Roundup: French-Arab efforts for Mideast peace conference go fast: official

The efforts of France and the Arab states on holding an international conference for peace in the Middle East to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict go fast and in the right direction, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday.

Nabil Abu Rdineh said in a press statement at the end of a meeting held on Sunday in Ramallah between President Abbas and France Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that the talks between the two men focused on the efforts that France exerts for holding an international conference for peace in the Middle East.

"The aim is to get the peace process out of its current stalemate," Abu Rdineh said, adding that President Abbas expressed the Palestinians' gratitude to France for its deep concerns and commitment to hold the conference and halt the status of instability in Palestine and the entire region.

Abu Rdineh also said that French FM Ayrault briefed President Abbas on the results of his earlier meeting held in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Reyad al-Malki told reporters after the meeting with Ayrault that Ayrault informed the Palestinian side that his country is going ahead in the preparations for holding the ministerial meeting that is scheduled to prepare for the peace conference.

"The ministerial meeting might be postponed for a day or two for technical reasons related to guaranteeing the arrival all the foreign ministers, including United States Secretary of State John Kerry to the meeting," said al-Malki, adding that France insists on holding the ministerial meeting and the peace conference."

The Palestinians, according to al-Malki, expressed full readiness to cooperate with France and other countries in all fields and on all levels, saying "the Palestinians are feeling comfortable from the French position, adding that "we hope that the French efforts will succeed in getting peace back to its track."

Asked about Kerry's attendance of the international ministerial meeting, al-Malki stated that "we believe that he will attend and we have the hope and the expectations," adding that "there are big efforts to make Kerry attending, and the last telephone conversation with President Abbas shows that he will."

On the issue of Ayrault meeting on Sunday morning with Israeli PM Netanyahu, al-Malki said that "Ayrault listens to Netanyahu's remarks, but told us during the meeting that France insists on keeping its preparations for holding the peace conference."

France had earlier announced that it invited foreign ministers of European and Arab countries as well as Kerry for a preparatory meeting that is schedule to be held end of May. Neither Israel not the Palestinian National Authority will attend the meeting that will discuss the French peace initiative.

The United States hasn't decided yet to join an international peace conference that France intends to hold, and its position is still unclear. However, Netanyahu has also announced earlier that Israel believes that the best way to revive the peace process is through unconditioned direct peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

On Saturday, President Abbas expressed hope that the meeting that is scheduled to be held in Paris at the end of May or on early June will help to release a real peace process based on the two-state solution. His remarks were made in a televised speech to mark 68 years for the Palestinian Nakba, or Catastrophe.

Since 1948, the Palestinians on May 15, mark the Nakba, or Catastrophe Day, the day when the state of Israel was created. Since then, the Palestinians have been struggling for independence and the implementation of the international resolutions related to the their cause.

"We are working with our French friends to hold an international conference that discusses the Palestinian cause and release a peace process based on the principles needed to bring us to the two-state solution," Abbas said during the televised speech.

He explained that it is not reasonable to see many international conferences that resolved more sophisticated issues in the world from the Iranian Nuclear case to the crisis Yemen, Libya and Syria, adding that "while they are not paying attention to resolving our cause."

Abbas unveiled that more than 20 countries, including the permanent members in the United Nations Security Council, besides Arab and many European countries who accepted the invitation to attend the ministerial meeting scheduled to be held soon on Paris to prepare for holding an international peace conference.

"We hope that the meeting would lead to releasing a real political peace process based on the two-state solution and the Arab League Peace Initiative," said Abbas, adding that "we hope that the meeting comes out with a time schedule and practical mechanisms to end the military occupation of Palestine."

Last direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in April 2014 after it was sponsored by the United States for nine months. The talks stopped after the two sides failed to resolve their deep disputes on Israeli settlement, borders of the Palestinian state and security. Endit