France won’t give up on peace talks – Fabius

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says that France will not give up on finding a way to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Speaking in Amman, where he was meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Fabius says that “France is one of several countries that will not give up in this situation… out of friendship with the Palestinians and with the Israelis.”

Fabius is expected in Israel later today to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then separately with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to promote France’s proposal for relaunching talks.

“The first order of business during this visit is to identify how we can contribute to restarting peace talks, Fabius say.

The French initiative seeks a UN Security Council resolution which would set a timetable of 18 months for a final status agreement, and according to French media reports would threaten French recognition of Palestine should negotiations fail.

The French proposal says the sovereignty of a future demilitarized Palestinian state must be guaranteed, with a gradual Israeli pullout from Palestinian territory. It also says Israel’s security concerns must be addressed, and any Palestinian arms buildup or terrorist activity prevented.

— AFP contributed