Mitchell to Abu Bluff: No more excuses
It sounds like US Special Middle East envoy George Mitchell is losing patience with 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President United States special Mideast envoy George Mitchell has urged Europe to step up pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to kick-start stalled peace talks with Israel, the London-based A-Sharq-al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.
"The time has come to stop finding excuses for avoiding a return to the negotiating table," the London paper quoted Mitchell as saying, citing French officials.
Mitchell believed the Palestinians were showing little enthusiasm for talks because as inaction was safer than reentering dialogue when the outcome was so uncertain, the paper said.
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According to A-Sharq al-Awsat, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner defended Abbas, urging the envoy to recognize the risk to the Palestinian leader of returning to talks without international guarantees.
Kouchner proposed reassuring Abbas with a clear declaration that the aim of any new talks would be the creation of a Palestinian within a set time frame of anything up to two years, the paper said.
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But Mitchell rejected out of hand French calls for an international conference and for U.S. guarantees to both Israel and the Palestinians.
Instead, he is said to prefer indirect negotiations accompanied by a series of confidence-building measures on the ground in the West Bank.
Israel Matzav: Mitchell to Abu Bluff: No more excuses
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