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Major Powers Drawing Up Framework for Mideast Talks

(Reuters) Douglas Hamilton - Major powers are working on a statement to set the basis for direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told EU foreign ministers Thursday. Ashton said the Quartet initiative "should help President Abbas rally enough support, both at home and abroad, to engage in direct talks." The Quartet says Israel should halt settlement building in the West Bank and reach a full peace agreement with the Palestinians within 24 months, creating a state on the basis of the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war. Ashton's letter made clear that these terms, contained in the Quartet's statement from Moscow on March 19, would form the basis of its statement "to be issued concurrently with the announcement of the launch of direct talks." A Western diplomat said Quartet officials were working on the language of a statement "inviting the parties to go back to direct negotiations." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev noted, "The government of Israel has been calling for the immediate start of direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians for more than a year now."
2010-08-13 09:37:39
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