Abbas: final peace deal with Israel has to be complete

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-26 23:54

RAMALLAH -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated on Tuesday that any final peace agreement to be reached with Israel in the future has to be complete and comprehensive.

Abbas told a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held in Ramallah that "we discussed reaching a full peace deal, and not a partial one that postpones other issues. The solution must be comprehensive."

Rice, who arrived in Israel on Monday held a three-way meeting with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to preview the latest results of their peace talks, which began after the US-led Annapolis conference in November.

"In fact we don't want to loose any opportunity to reach a comprehensive and full agreement with Israel," Abbas said, stressing that the Israeli settlements activities are "a real obstacle for reaching a final peace agreement."

Both Abbas and Rice agreed that the Administration of US President George W. Bush has worked very hard with the two sides over the past seven years in order to resume the current talks on permanent status issues.

"We have to continue working with the Administration of President Bush in order to reach an agreement. We have to exert every effort within the coming period and not to loose any opportunity to reach an agreement," said Abbas.

Rice stressed that the Israeli settlements activists in the West Bank "don't help to create a proper environment that helps to achieve a progress in the peace negotiations between the two sides. "

Both Rice and Abbas were asked about if there was any progress achieved in the talks since Annapolis conference, while the two negotiations teams have been holding intensive talks without announcing that there has been a progress made.

Rice defended the situation and said that "basically, before Annapolis peace conference was held in November, the peace process and the peace talks were completely stopped since 2001."

"I believe that it is fruitful to see both the Israelis and the Palestinians are associated in a process of negotiations. Our job is to keep the momentum and keep working together on all the issues," she added.

Abbas said that "these efforts that we were exerting since Annapolis were not absurd. If it was absurd, we would leave it soon, but we are doing our best and there are benefits that we will get soon in the coming future."

He added that if there will be no final peace deal by the end of the year, we will keep working with the new US Administration in order to finalize a peace deal that leads to establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."