Kerry Calls Netanyahu again, Erekat: No Progress

Local Editor

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived Monday for a shortened stay in Brunei for Asia security talks after speaking again to "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on reviving the so-called "peace talks".

Kerry had delayed his departure for the ASEAN bloc's conference in Brunei by a day as he shuttled between Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas in hopes the two sides can restart talks after a nearly three-year hiatus.

Kerry, who reported progress but no breakthrough during his four days of exhaustive talks, spoke again to Netanyahu by telephone during the more than 12 hours in the air between Tel Aviv and Brunei, a US official said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority official Saeb Erekat said on Sunday that there had been no breakthrough in marathon US-led efforts to revive the so-called "peace talks" but Washington's top diplomat said there had been "real progress".
"There has been no breakthrough so far and there is still a gap between the Palestinian and "Israeli" positions," chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erakat told reporters after Kerry finished talks in Ramallah with Abbas, his third meeting in as many days.

But Kerry, however, insisted he had held "very positive" discussions with both sides since starting his intense shuttle diplomacy in Occupied al-Quds on Thursday evening.
And he said that with "a little more work" the start of final status talks "could be within reach".
"I am pleased to tell you that we have made real progress on this trip and I believe that with a little more work, the start of final status negotiations could be within reach," Kerry stated.

"We started out with very wide gaps and we have narrowed those considerably," he said, describing them as "very narrow".
"We have some specific details and work to pursue but I am absolutely confident that we are on the right track and that all the parties are working in very good faith in order to get to the right place."

Kerry, who has over the last four days spent a total 13 hours in talks with Netanyahu and another six with Abbas, said he would return to the region without saying when.
"I'm going to come back because both leaders have asked me to," he said.
"Netanyahu and his government are not serious about establishing a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders, they speak of a state without clear borders, and we need clarity according to international resolutions," said Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior official of Abbas's Fatah party.

"We are ready to resume negotiations according to our clear guidelines," he told Voice of Palestine.

Source: News agencies, Edited by website team