President Abbas calls on Washington to adopt non-biased position towards peace

Sunday May 18, 2008 23:56 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, confirmed that the Palestinian side’s stance towards international legitimacy has not changed, in terms of talks with either the Israeli or American side.

Abbas’s remarks came during a press briefing after meeting with the Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, in the Sharm Elsheikh town of Egypt.

“We don’t want the Americans to negotiate with the Israelis on our behalf, we rather want them to stand by legitimacy and maintain the least of nonbiased position�, Abbas told reporters.

He added that for the Israelis, “we are negotiating with them but we are not ready to deliver illusions but we want to say that things have been sorted out already�

He asserted that the Palestinian side will not be ready to postpone any of the outstanding negotiations issues such as the refugee problem and the status of east Jerusalem.

The Palestinian President called on the ruling Hamas government to renounce control over Gaza and return to dialogue with his Fatah party. Hamas ousted Fatah-loyal forces from Gaza in June2007.

Abbas’s statements came prior to a planned meeting in Sharm Elshiekh with President Mubarak and U.S President Gorge W. Bush.

palestine | peace process | news report rami at imemc dot org