France supports bid to restart Middle East peace process
Middle East peace process/necessary restart of direct negotiations – Statement by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Spokesman
Paris, 27 January 2012
France, who is concerned about the risks of a new deadlock in the peace process, supports the efforts under way to restart direct negotiations. It is important for the parties to present detailed proposals as soon as possible on borders and security.
France again calls on the parties to create the conditions for permanent dialogue: confidence-building measures are expected. She also calls on them to refrain from unilateral gestures and provocations, such as continuing Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Our European partners share all these expectations, as we reiterated collectively in the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 23 January.
France continues to believe that, in order to encourage negotiations to restart on a lasting basis, we must begin thinking about what form international support for the peace process takes, as President Sarkozy said again recently in his New Year greetings to the diplomatic corps./.