(AFP) Jo Biddle - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry admitted on Thursday there was skepticism about his bid to broker new talks between Israelis and Palestinians on his fourth visit to the region. Kerry has now visited Israel as many times in his first months in office as his predecessor Hillary Clinton did in four years. Kerry has acknowledged the difficulties ahead. "I know this region well enough to know there is skepticism, in some quarters there is cynicism, and there are reasons for it. There have been bitter years of disappointment," he said. "It is our hope that by being methodical, careful, patient, but detailed and tenacious, we can lay on a path ahead that can conceivably surprise people and certainly exhaust the possibilities for peace." Kerry also revealed that U.S. General John Allen, the former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was "here on the ground working with his counterparts on the issues of security."
2013-05-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive