FRANCE: FM Bernard Kouchner meets peace envoy George Mitchell meet ahead of Mideast trip

Record ID: 334836

  • Title: FRANCE: FM Bernard Kouchner meets peace envoy George Mitchell meet ahead of Mideast trip
  • Date: 21st March 2010
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 20, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIORS FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY VARIOUS OF U.S. PEACE ENVOY GEORGE MITCHELL AND FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER BERNARD KOUCHNER (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PEACE ENVOY GEORGE MITCHELL SAYING: "I leave here immediately for the airport to fly to the Middle East where I'll meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow in Jerusalem and on Monday with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and I wanted to get as I always do the advice and counsel of the foreign minister personally and of the French government to assist us in moving forward in these discussions and getting into the proximity talks at the earliest time. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PEACE ENVOY GEORGE MITCHELL SAYING: "We believe the best way to proceed in the Middle East is to encourage the parties to enter into direct negotiations to bring about an agreement that will bring about peace, prosperity and opportunity for all the people of the region. Israelis, Palestinians and people in the rest of the region as well. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER BERNARD KOUCHNER SAYING: "I think that the whole world is convinced that the start of the solution is the creation of a Palestinian state that will guarantee by its very presence the security of Israel. Everyone believes that. MITCHELL LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 5th April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Reuters ID: LVA17OZJSW82QEU2BPNVZ5Q0MI38
  • Story Text: U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell said on Saturday (March 20) he was travelling to Jerusalem in a bid to kick-start the flagging Middle East peace process whose already slow progress has recently been bogged down further by a row over planned Jewish settlement in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
    Speaking to reporters following an hour-long meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Mitchell sidestepped a question over whether the U.S. would consider scaling back its military aid to the Jewish state, saying Israel was a close ally.
    "We believe the best way to proceed in the Middle East is to encourage the parties to enter into direct negotiations to bring about an agreement that will bring about peace, prosperity and opportunity for all the people of the region. Israelis, Palestinians and people in the rest of the region as well," he told reporters.
    U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel and the Palestinians earlier on Saturday to restart negotiations.
    Ban also called on Israel to stop settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and said the holy city should be the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a limited 10-month freeze on settlement building in the West Bank in November. But the moratorium did not include territory it captured in a 1967 war and annexed to Jerusalem.
    END
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register