Abbas says US peace efforts have failed so far

US diplomacy has failed “until this moment” to complete drafting the framework agreement that is intended to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday.

Abbas told reporters following his meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Paris that “the Americans have been unable, until this moment, to put these ideas into a framework, even though their efforts are extremely serious.”

“The efforts made by US President Barack Obama and Secretary Kerry to converge the Israeli and the Palestinian views were serious,” Abbas told reporters.

Abbas held two meetings in Paris on Wednesday and Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is spearheading efforts to reach an understanding between the Palestinians and Israelis on the “framework agreement” that pushes the peace process forward.

A Palestinian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told AFP on Friday that the ideas presented by Kerry to the Palestinian President were “unacceptable” and cannot form the foundation of a framework agreement with Israel. According to the official they “did not take into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”

Abbas praised the French President for the bilateral support provided by France and the European Union to the Palestinian Authority and proposed establishing a French-Palestinian forum.

Source: Arabs48