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Palestinian, Israeli Leaders See Need for Dialog: French FM
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said in Amman on Friday that Palestinian and Israeli leaders had identical views on the need for a dialog aimed at ending the violence between the two sides.
Vedrine, whose country is holding the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), held talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak before he arrived in Amman earlier in the day within a two-day regional tour, which also took him to Egypt on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference before wrapping up his visit Amman, Vedrine expressed hope that a possible dialog will lead to negotiations to address the difficult issues facing the Palestinians and Israelis.
The Palestinian territories have been rocked by 11 weeks of clashes between Israeli troops and the Palestinians, which have left more than 320 people dead, most of them Palestinians.
The French minister reaffirmed that the EU supports any efforts to revive the Middle East peace process, particularly on the Palestinian track.
Earlier, Vedrine held separate talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah Khatib and Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb on the latest developments in the region.
The two sides called for a political solution to ease the tensions between the Palestinians and Israel.
Jordan is one of the two Arab countries besides Egypt to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. And the EU wants to play a key mediatory role between the Palestinians and Israel, and keeps close contacts with concerned parties in the region.
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