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Chinese envoy calls for resumption of Middle East peace talks

Xinhua, January 18, 2017 Adjust font size:

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations Tuesday called on the Israelis and the Palestinians to implement recent Security Council resolution on Israeli settlement and resume peace talks as soon as possible.

"The question of Palestine has been the crux of the Middle East issue. It is a fundamental question for the region,"said Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN at a Security Council meeting, adding that "defending the legitimate national interests and rights of the Palestinian people is the shared responsibility of the international community" .

Noting that the confrontation between the two sides has become more intense recently while peace talks has been stalled, Liu urged the international community to take concrete actions to rekindle hope for the two-states solution.

"Both sides should take the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2334 as an opportunity to resume the peace talks as early as possible," Liu said.

The council adopted the resolution on December 23, condemning Israel's settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Liu called on both sides to effectively implement the resolution, observe calm and restraint and gradually establish mutual trust so as to return to the path of peace negotiations.

"Israel should cease the construction of settlements and demolition of Palestinian homes in order to create conditions for the consumption of peace talks," he said, adding that legitimate security concerns of regional countries should also be respected.

China welcomes the convening of a Middle East peace conference in Paris on Sunday, said Liu."We hope this will be a new start of intensified diplomatic efforts," he added.

The peace talks between Israel and Palestine have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results. Enditem