France to move forward on Mideast conference

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says France will move ahead with its proposal to bring Palestinians and Israelis together at a peace conference later this summer despite US reservations.

He said the Palestinian Authority responded positively, and Israel is studying the proposal.

Juppe told reporters after attending a UN Security Council meeting Tuesday that the Americans are reluctant to holding a large political conference without prior agreement of the two parties on the framework for the meeting.

• Receive Ynetnews updates directly to your desktop
  

"That's exactly what we have proposed," he said. "We think it is necessary to have an agreement of both the Palestinians and the Israelis on the parameters we are proposing."

France is still working on those ideas, Juppe said, and expects "positive developments during the next weeks."

On Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cautiously welcomed the French proposal to convene Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Paris to try to renew collapsed peace talks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday poured cold water on the French proposal, saying there was no sign either side was ready to talk.

"Right now we are still in a wait-and-see attitude because we don't yet have any assurance from either party that they would return to negotiations," Clinton told reporters after a meeting with visiting French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, saying it would not be "productive" to have a meeting now.

• Follow Ynetnews on Facebook