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Israel's Netanyahu rejects Hollande's invite for Paris peace conference

Xinhua, December 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday talked over the phone with France's President Francois Hollande, declining his invitation to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris in December.

A statement released by the Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu agrees to meet Abbas but not in the framework of the international peace conference that France tries to advance.

"Netanyahu told Hollande that if there was no international conference in Paris, he would meet Abbas for direct talks without preconditions," the statement read.

"Israel will not participate in the international conference, which wouldn't contribute to achieving peace," the statement added.

Israel has repeatedly rejected the French initiative, calling instead for direct talks.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian presidency announced that it has not received an official invitation for a trilateral meeting.

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

Abu Rudainah said 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 adviser for diplomatic affairs Majdi Al-Khalidi told Xinhua that the Palestinians were officially informed that France is preparing to hold the international conference on Dec. 21, 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.

Paris hosted an international ministerial gathering 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