Abbas expects to get green light for proximity talks

Amman - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in Jordan on Wednesday that he intended to meet with his top aides on Saturday to get the go-ahead signal for proximity talks with Israel.

He made the remarks after coordination talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II ahead of the Palestinian leader's meeting with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and his trip to Washington later this month for talks with President Barack Obama.

"Now we cannot say that there is an agreement to start proximity talks. There is a very important Arab recommendation and the Palestinian leadership will meet on Saturday to say its word concerning the indirect talks," Abbas told reporters in Amman.

"Afterwards, we will tell Mitchell that we are ready for the negotiations and for discussing the final status issues. If this scenario comes true, then we will be on the right track," he said.

The Arab League committee met in Cairo earlier this week and gave is backing for starting the US-brokered proximity talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

"We are keen on full coordination with our Arab brethren and we will consult them at any juncture," Abbas said. "The indirect talks will be for four months after which we will return to the Arab follow-up committee for opinion," he added.

The Palestinian leader said that the indirect talks will go directly "to the final status issues, starting with frontiers and security".

Abbas made a stop-over in Amman after a tour that took him to China, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322171,abbas-expects-to-get-green-light-for-proximity-talks.html.