CAIRO — Arab foreign ministers spoke out Wednesday against any talks between Israel and the Palestinians, direct or indirect, unless the US takes a firm stance on the future borders of a Palestinian state.The Arab position attempting to push the US to endorse the original 1967 borders as the baseline for negotiations between the two parties.While the Arabs are not backing a return to negotiations at this stage, they are not advocating any alternatives yet, such as a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.The United States' peace efforts suffered a major setback after Washington abandoned efforts to coax Israel to freeze Jewish settlement in areas the Palestinians want for a future state."The negotiation track between the Palestinians and Israelis is futile. There is no return to talks. Any resumption is conditioned on a serious offer that ensures the end to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the peace process references," a final statement from the Arab ministers said.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)