Region | Palestinian Territories
Abbas hopes for positive momentum at Paris summit
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Friday expressed hopes that his weekend's Mediterranean Union summit in Paris would boost peace prospects with Israel.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:02 July 12, 2008
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday expressed hopes that his weekend's Mediterranean Union summit in Paris would boost peace prospects with Israel.
"This summit can give positive momentum to the peace process and could lead to more economic support for the Palestinian Authority," Abbas said in a conference in Rome.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, for his part, said the conclusion of peace negotiations "had never been closer".
Berlusconi said he had offered to host talks between Israel and the Palestinians at Erice in Sicily. He did not provide further details.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas will meet face to face in Paris on Sunday at the launch of the Mediterranean Union.
The grouping will see the 27 countries from the European Union join states in north Africa and the Middle East.
It hopes to bring leaders from Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority to the same table despite their unresolved peace issues.
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