Olmert vows 'every effort' at negotiations
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed today to “make every effort” to resume negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, although he also insisted that attacks must stop first.
Olmert, meeting French President Jacques Chirac, also said previous accords and Israel's right to existence must be recognised.
“We will make every effort so that we can quickly hold negotiations, based on these three demands and the road map, with the Palestinian Authority,” he said.
Chirac also called for negotiations in his opening remarks, but he made no mention of Olmert’s ambitious, contentious plan to unilaterally redraw Israel’s borders with the Palestinians.
Olmert, sworn in as premier last month, was aiming to get Chirac behind his plan to pull out of much of the West Bank, without an agreement with the Palestinians if necessary.
Chirac said it was essential to restore peace to the Middle East, with Israelis and Palestinians living in two states “side by side and in security”.
“This objective supposes a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and France, the European Union, are totally determined to contribute as much as possible to the building of this peace,” said the French leader.
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