Member of the Palestinian negotiations team, Sa'di al-Koronz, on Saturday denied earlier reports saying there is a crisis in the talks between Palestinians and Israelis, saying the meetings were friendly.
Al-Koronz rejected Israeli reports saying that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "is exerting pressure on the Palestinian side to minimize their demands, noting that the talks' atmosphere "was positive".
Al-Koronz told reporters in Ramallah that "the meetings were friendly, but very slight progress had been achieved."
The two teams have agreed to meet three times per week, he added.
On Friday, the two negotiation teams held a meeting in Jerusalem as part of a series of talks aimed at reaching a framework agreement ahead of a U.S.-sponsored peace conference due in Annapolis in the United States this fall to revive Middle East peace process.
Moreover, Al-Koronz added that there are good ties between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, stressing "the ties are not enough, and the outcomes are more important."
Al-Koronz also said that "right of return and Jerusalem are two important issues. We won't make concessions, while the borders of the independent Palestinian state should be the 1967 borders, and east Jerusalem should be the capital."
On July 16, U.S. President George W. Bush proposed to hold the international conference this fall, which would include Israel, the Palestinians and some neighboring Arab states, to help resume the stalled Middle East peace talks.
Israel and the Palestinians still differ with each other as to what they should agree on before November.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expects a detailed framework agreement that would address core issues including borders, Jerusalem and refugees while Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants a broad-brush principle for peace talks.
Source: Xinhua
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