Translated material
They came, they talked, they left
Olmert met with Abbas under US pressure
Yesterday's meeting between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem, as expected, did not bring concrete results. After the talks, Rice issued a short statement to the press, in which she noted that the parties remain committed to a two-state solution to the conflict. She also promised to visit the Middle East again in the near future. At the same time, it is possible that her next meeting with Olmert and Abbas will take place in March with the participation of representatives of Egypt and Jordan.The negotiations were difficult and ended ahead of schedule. An hour later, when representatives of the Israeli and Palestinian delegations were supposed to join the meeting, the negotiations unexpectedly ended. The stumbling block was international recognition of the government of national unity being formed in the Palestinian Authority. Israel and the United States demand assurances from Mahmoud Abbas that the new cabinet will fulfill the conditions put forward by the “Middle Eastern Quartet” (USA, Russia, EU and UN) - recognize Israel and all previously reached agreements, and will also renounce the use of force.
In turn, Mahmoud Abbas asks to give the new government a chance and lift the financial blockade of the autonomy, and only then demand the fulfillment of any conditions. According to Israeli media, the negotiations were stopped after the Palestinian leader declared that the positions of the United States and Israel were unacceptable for the autonomy. He said he saw no point in continuing the meeting. The issue of the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Palestinian militants in June 2006, was not discussed, as expected.
At the same time, both the Palestinian and Israeli sides do not feel much disappointment from yesterday's negotiations. After all, initially there were no high hopes for this meeting. A source in the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Vremya Novostey: “Israel agreed to trilateral negotiations, paying tribute to the United States, which hoped to reconcile the Palestinian and Israeli sides. It was clear to us that no results would be achieved.”