Abbas: Palestine willing to resume peace talks with Israel

PanARMENIAN.Net - Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas discussed with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta the efforts of resuming the stalled Israeli- Palestinian peace negotiations.

"The Palestinians are willing to resume the direct peace talks with Israel only if the latter abides by halting settlement and accepts the two-state solution," the Palestinian state-run news agency "Wafa" quoted Abbas as saying in the aftermath of his meeting with Panetta in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The principle of two-state solution "is an interest to both the Palestinians and Israel, and it has become necessary to reach the solution of the two states," Panetta said, asserting that it is important to find a way to get back to negotiations between the two sides.

Panetta arrived earlier on Monday in the region, where he held talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials before he heads for Egypt.

The direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians had been stalled for one year after the talks were launched in Washington in September 2010. The talks were halted after Israel's refusal to freeze settlement constructions.

In response the Palestinians submitted last month a request to the United Nations demanding a recognition of a full membership of an independent state established on the territories of 1967.