Abbas ready to restart talks with Israel “any moment”October 11, 2011 - 11:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Monday, Oct 10 in Colombia said he was willing "at any moment" to restart peace negotiations with Israel aimed at a settlement that allows them to exist side by side as states. "We are in favor of peaceful negotiations leading to the creation of a Palestinian state, alongside the state of Israel," Abbas said in Bogota, where he is on a Latin American tour to rally support for UN recognition. "We are at any moment willing to return to the negotiating table if Israel is of the same mind," he said, during an event where he was declared an honorary citizen of Bogota by the city's mayor. The Middle East Quartet (United States, Russia, United Nations and the European Union) has called for a resumption of negotiations. Israel on Sunday accepted with reservations a plan proposed by Quartet envoy Tony Blair, while the Palestinians have said there will be no negotiations until Israel freezes settlement -- a demand they say is written into the Quartet proposal. The Palestinian leader is due Tuesday to hold talks with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who has previously said that Bogota, which has a seat on the UN Security Council, would abstain in a vote on recognition of statehood. Israel on September 27 approved a plan to build 1,100 new homes in a Jewish settlement, prompting an angry reaction from the Palestinians who said it amounted to a direct rejection of international efforts to restart peace talks. Colombia has argued that recognition of a Palestinian state should come through negotiations with Israel. The Palestinian move for UN recognition is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States, which say a Palestinian state can only emerge through bilateral negotiations. Six Security Council members -- Brazil, China, India, Lebanon, Russia and South Africa -- have publicly indicated their backing for the Palestinian bid, AFP reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |