Abbas declares coalition talks with Hamas hit dead end

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 12-01-2006 08:36

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared Thursday that months of coalition talks with the ruling Hamas had hit a "dead end". Abbas made the statement after meeting with the visiting US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. Rice is in the Middle East for peace-talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

Abbas, also leader of Hamas rival party, Fatah, told Rice what he'd done to try and set up a government acceptable both to the West and Israel.

Rice said the US hopes to speed up efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and extend the scope of a recently declared cease-fire between the two sides.

"The United States has made clear that we expect it to be a viable and contiguous state when it is created. Secondly, that no actions that are being taken now should prejudge the outcome of a final status agreement. That means, very clearly, that if actions are being taken now, they will not be considered by the United States to have prejudged the outcome of final status. The third point is that we have made very clear that Israel has obligations under the Road Map and that the obligations on settlements are clearly articulated in the Road Map."said Rice, US Secretary of State.

But Palestine's Foreign Minister, also Hamas member Mahmoud A-Zahar, said he didn't think this meeting would help the Palestinian cause.

He also said, "We are not believe in that such meetings, according to our previous experience, that we are going to achieve any basic demands for the Palestinian issue. On the contrary we are believing that this meeting or such meeting justify more Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people."

During her visit in Israel, Rice described an earlier conciliatory speech made by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as positive in her words, "a hand reaching out to a Palestinian partner".

Rice also met with Israeli Foreign Miniser Tzipi Livni, who said that Olmert's efforts were intended as a message of hope to Palestinian moderates.

Rice's visit is an attempt by the US to use the momentum created by a five-day-old truce to renew long-stalled peace talks.

Editor:Du Xiaodan