French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Sunday that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken positively of the French Mideast peace initiative, and that France would be willing to reschedule the meeting of foreign ministers, now scheduled for May 30, so that Kerry could attend.
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Paris is to host an worldwide meeting of 20 countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan on May 30, to discuss the peace process. Any other method only pushes peace further away and gives the Palestinians an escape hatch to avoid dealing with the root of the conflict – which is their non-recognition of the State of Israel.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is on a one-day visit to meet with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“I told him that the only way to advance true peace between us and the Palestinians is through direct talks, without preconditions”, he said of his meeting with Ayrault.
Ayrault said that Netanyahu’s call for direct negotiations with the Palestinians has been stalled since USA -brokered talks imploded in the spring of 2014, and that something needs to be done to break the impasse.
Ayraulty explained to Netanyahu diring their meeting in Jerusalem that the process does not exclude direct talks nor is it an attempt to pre-determine the result of those talks.
Sources close to Ayrault said on Sunday that France “regretted” the resolution, echoing remarks by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls who on Wednesday called it “clumsy” and “unfortunate” and said it should have been avoided.
Netanyahu is always looking for excuses not to talk, said a Palestinian diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing, adding that the Palestinians support the French Initiative because US efforts to broker a deal have failed.
“If we are able to – all of us together – with effort and a real will and devotion, find a solution for this issue, and find hope for the Palestinians and security for the Israelis, I am telling you a new page will be written”, he said.
He says the amount of animosity between Egypt and Israel that had existed prior to the conclusion of the landmark accord was no different from how the Palestinians and Israelis feel now. France will host an worldwide meeting at the end of this month to discuss moving the peace process forward.
“We ve made it clear that the May 30 date originally proposed by the French would not work for the secretary and for his schedule”, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
Rather, it was taking the initiative since there were “currently no negotiations”.
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In a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said that he had brought up to Ayrault a UNESCO resolution in April regarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, which France vote in favor of.
