Palestine's chief negotiator says meeting with Kerry did not achieve any tangible progress

The Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said on Sunday that his meetings with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington last week did not achieve any tangible progress in the negotiations with Israel. “No specific date was set up for presenting a written draft of Kerry’s proposed framework peace agreement that should be signed with Israel,” Erekat told China’ Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua reported that Erekat had held several meetings with Kerry in Washington to discuss the different mechanisms for advancing the negotiations and to help reach a final agreement; however, Erekat left Washington saying that: “So far, Kerry hasn’t yet presented anything official and we are still in the circle of consultations and of debating the ideas.”

Kerry reportedly met with Israel’s chief negotiator Justice Minister Tzipi Livni before his meeting with Erekat. The Palestinian-Israeli peace talks resumed in July 2013 under US auspices and were scheduled to last for nine months; yet no progress has been achieved so far.