Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected a European proposal to meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin while the two are in Brussels, Belgium, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
The proposed meeting with Rivlin was to be held at the invitation of the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.
An unnamed senior Palestinian official told the Anadolu Agency: “Abbas has rejected the European proposal because there will be no benefit from such meetings.”
Meanwhile, Israeli public radio quoted sources in the Israeli president’s office as saying that while Abbas has rejected the initiative, Rivlin accepted it.
Abbas and Rivlin are currently visiting the Belgian capital where they spoke before the European Parliament.
Palestinian-Israeli negotiations were suspended in April 2014 after Israel rejected a clause to halt settlement construction and accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.