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15:30 GMT
PARIS, June 21 (KUNA) -- French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe met here
Tuesday with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak to discuss the Middle East
peace process and the regional situation and Juppe told him "of the necessity
to resume, discussions, negotiations for peace," diplomats said here.
Juppe and Barak already met at the beginning of the month during the French
Minister's June 1-2 trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories and he
explained the "French initiative" to try to start the peace process again by
hosting an international conference that would address aid to the Palestinians
but would have a "strong political content" as well.
Officials here declined to answer questions on whether Israel responded
favourably on Tuesday to the French proposal, which has already been met with
scepticism by the United States.
Juppe "set out to Mr. Barak the why and how of the French initiative to
restart the peace process (and) to restart the discussions, the negotiations
in light of the parameters expressed by the US President in his major speech"
last month in New York.
The French Minister also sought to impress upon Barak that everything must
be done "to avoid finding ourselves in an impasse in September," when the
Palestinians say they will take their statehood issue to the United Nations.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said that the discussions
"went very well" and the talks were held in "a friendly" atmosphere.
But Juppe did not bring up the issue of Israel's ongoing, illegal settlement
policy in Arab East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Only last Sunday, Israel announced the construction of another 2,000
illegal housing units in an existing settlement in East Jerusalem, a move that
France said caused "deep concern."
France has regularly condemned or regretted Israel's continued defiance of
the will of the international community and has repeated regularly that
settlements are "against international law" and "an obstacle to peace" and go
against the will of the Middle East Quartet.
Juppe did not raise the settlement issue with Barak, however, even though
it is a key question that must be resolved before talks can resume with the
Palestinians.
Asked by KUNA about this and if Juppe broached the illegal settlement
question, Valero replied: "To my knowledge, no," adding, "basically because
our position is well known. Juppe spoke about it when he was over there with
his Israeli interlocutors."
He repeated the French view that settlement-building "is not acceptable, it
is an obstacle to peace, it must be stopped, this has being going on for a
long time. We made a statement yesterday (on this)," he said (end)
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