US peace efforts have ‘failed so far,’ says Abbas

In Paris, PA president says Kerry’s attempts to forge framework deal, though ‘extremely serious,’ have yet to come to fruition

By AFP 22 February 2014, 6:58 am

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris on February 21, 2014. (photo credit: Alain Jocard/AFP)

PARIS — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that US attempts to forge an agreement on a framework for peace talks with Israel had so far failed.

He added, however, that the efforts were “extremely serious.”

Speaking in Paris after talks this week with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Abbas told journalists, “So far the Americans have not been able to put these ideas into a framework, even if the efforts are extremely serious.”

After meeting with Abbas, French President Francois Hollande said he had underlined the need “to reach an agreed framework for negotiations in a timely manner.”

Abbas met with Kerry twice in Paris this week in what a US official described as “constructive” talks.

The top US diplomat has spent months trying to get the Israelis and the Palestinians to agree on a framework to guide talks towards a full peace treaty, but the negotiations have shown little sign of progress, with each side blaming the other.

A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Friday that ideas proposed by Kerry in Paris could not be accepted “as the basis for a framework accord… as they do not take into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”