Palestinian PM, FM Meet with French Envoy to Discuss Upcoming Peace Summit

Ramallah, 05 Syawal 1437/10 July 016 (MINA) – France’s special envoy for its peace conference initiative Pierre Vimont traveled to Ramallah on Saturday and met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki separately to discuss preparations for the coming peace summit.

According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, during a meeting at the presidential compound in Ramallah, Abbas reiterated his rejection of a report recently released by Middle East Quartet for failing to adequately hold Israel accountable for its continued occupation of the Palestinian territory.

Abbas also reportedly applauded the efforts of French President Francois Hollande to create a clear political horizon as a basis for Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.

Vimont and Abbas also discussed the framework of the international summit to be held by the end of 2016, which was first laid out at a meeting in Paris on June 3.

Earlier on Saturday, al-Maliki hosted Vimont at his office in Ramallah, when al-Maliki pushed for ongoing coordination between France and Palestine to hold regular meetings in Paris to guarantee the best results for the conference, which should include submitting a complaint to the UN Security Council about Israeli settlements.

While Israeli leadership has consistently rejected the French initiative and maintained its preference for direct, bilateral negotiations, the Palestinian Authority has pledged its support for the initiative, and in April shelved the submission of a new anti-settlement resolution to the UN out of fear that doing so could thwart progress of new French proposals.  (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)