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Abbas welcomes French endeavor to save stalled peace process

Xinhua, December 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Palestinian presidency said Wednesday that it has not received an official invitation to a trilateral meeting between French President Francois Hollande, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian president spokesman Nabil Abu Rudainah said in statements carried by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA that the Palestinian leadership "welcomes any French endeavor to save the stalled political process."

He added "we have neither received any official invitation to the international peace conference expected to be held in Paris according to the French initiative, nor to any other meeting."

Abu Rudainah said that the Palestinian side "will deal with positivity toward any invitation, as it was positive about Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to hold a trilateral meeting in Moscow, which was accepted by President Abbas and rejected by Netanyahu."

The Palestinian president's advisor for diplomatic affairs Majdi Al-Khalidi told Xinhua that the Palestinian side has not received an official invitation from France regarding a trilateral meeting.

Al-Khalidi explained that what the Palestinians were officially informed of is that France is preparing to hold the international conference in two books but has not yet issued any official invitations.

"France is currently discussing with the Israeli side how to send to it an official invitation, including holding the suggested trilateral meeting during the conference or after its conclusion," said Al-Khalidi.

A high ranking Israeli official said that Netanyahu received an invitation for a trilateral meeting with Abbas and Hollande in Paris after two weeks, according to the public Israeli radio.

The radio reported that Netanyahu has not responded to the invitation yet.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Secretary General Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that France has informed the Palestinian leadership that it will hold the international peace conference on Dec. 21.

Paris hosted an international ministerial meeting on June 3, which was attended by the foreign ministers of 25 countries, including four Arab states. It debated the revival of the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, sponsored by the U.S, collapsed in April 2014, after nine months of futile efforts. Endit