Abbas expects progress in peace talks

PA president says Palestinians waiting for gov't to establish positions on J'lem, borders, settlements.

abbas mubarak 248.88 (photo credit: AP)
abbas mubarak 248.88
(photo credit: AP)
Two days after meeting with US President Barack Obama, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, visiting in Cairo, stated on Saturday that intense contacts were being held in order to look into the possibility of renewing negotiations with Israel. "It will happen not within months, but weeks from now, meaning that by early July, something must happen," Abbas reportedly said in a press conference following his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, hinting that he expects the talks to commence shortly. The Palestinian leader said the problem was that Israel has yet to establish clear positions on key issues, but that he understands "this will happen soon." Talks would begin once Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government established clear positions on the country's borders, the issue of Jerusalem and the West Bank settlements, Abbas said. In his meeting with Mubarak, Abbas told the Egyptian leader that he believes the US administration is committed to stopping Jewish Settlement construction in the West Bank. "We're not asking for anything new, just that the other side comply with what has already been agreed upon," Abbas stressed.