Jones: Only talks can bring borders

Gov't officials criticize EU decision to maintain low-level contact with PA.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
EU 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
EU 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones said Tuesday evening that only negotiations could bring permanent borders and an end to the conflict with the Palestinians. "We support the road map, and as such are doing all that is possible to turn Hamas into a partner," Jones said when asked during a press conference what his response was to Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's "convergence" plan. Meanwhile, government officials in Jerusalem expressed their discontent with the European Union's decision to continue to maintain contact with Palestinian Authority officials, despite a previous pronouncement by the EU Council of Ministers that they would boycott the PA, Army Radio reported. "The ministers agreed to meet with PA officials until now since as of yet there have been no meetings on the diplomatic level between with the PA," said Austria Foreign Minister Ursula Plasnik. "Low-level meetings will be allowed to continue," she added.