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Israel 'close' to Mid-East deal

by flight737 | July 13, 2008 at 04:51 pm | 75 views | add comment

Another Sarkozy story, Mr Nicolas is again in the spot light but this time on a peace agenda between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Mr Sarkozy said the role of Europe and France was to help achieve peace through economic development, political initiatives and providing guarantees for all stakeholders. He said the main problem was one of confidence.
"How can we achieve peace in this part of the world unless we build confidence, unless we extend the hand of peace and take the initiative?" he said.
Mr Olmert said there would be "obstacles, problems, disagreements but we have never been as close to the possibility of coming to an agreement as we are today".
"I think that the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli state will be able to take important decisions which will take us to a stage which we have never before reached," Mr Olmert said.
For his part, Mr Abbas sounded a positive note about future peace talks.
"We have no alternative but to achieve this peace," he said.
"For the sake of our peoples, the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, the peoples of the Middle East and for the people of the world. Because we know that peace in the Middle East is the basis of peace in the world."