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U.S. Welcomes Move to Resume Mideast Peace Talks
The United States said Thursday that it welcomes plans by Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resume Middle East peace talks Sunday.
"We made progress at Camp David and there's still a lot of hard work ahead of us, and frankly the sooner they start back, the better," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said.
Lockhart reiterated U.S. opposition to any unilateral action by the Palestinian side after a 15-day Middle East peace summit at Camp David, Maryland, ended without a deal Tuesday.
"Chairman Arafat knows full well what the U.S. position is that we oppose any unilateral actions," he said.
Appearing on ABC's "Nightline" program late Wednesday, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat confirmed that he would resume negotiations with his Israeli counterpart Sunday.
He said Palestinians and Israelis have completed more than 80 percent of what is needed for a formal peace deal at the Camp David talks.
After Camp David, he said, "I'm confident that we can make a deal before September 13."
The date of September 13 is the deadline agreed by both Israel and Palestinians for a final settlement to their 52-year-old conflict.
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