Abbas conditions peace talks on settlement freeze

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas Thursday stood firm on his demand for a halt to settlement building before talks with Israel can resume, as US officials scrambled to rescue the collapsing peace process.

"We will not accept negotiations as long as settlements continue," Abbas told reporters in Cairo after more than an hour of talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"We have made this clear to the Americans: without a halt to settlements, no negotiations."

The Palestinian leader said he also wanted to hear explanations from Washington as to why it failed to persuade Israel to freeze settlements in the West Bank and annexed Occupied Jerusalem.

"We want to know what happened exactly between America and Israel," he said, adding he would be meeting Washington's Middle East envoy George Mitchell when he returns to the region next week.

A Palestinian diplomat said the two would meet on Monday.

Other Palestinian officials have indicated that indirect talks, along with Mitchell, are likely to be the immediate way forward in Washington's stuttering attempts to secure a peace deal by the end of 2011.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he still favours direct peace talks, despite the dwindling prospects of them resuming any time soon.

"It is very important that the dialogue between us and the Palestinians continues," Lieberman said in Sofia after talks with his Bulgarian counterpart, Nikolay Mladenov.

"Nothing can replace direct negotiations. We believe in direct negotiations."

Abbas, apparently still leaving the door open, said a final decision on talks with Israel would be taken in consultation with Arab and Palestinian officials.

"There must be clear references for peace... and we will discuss all that with the follow-up committee, the Palestinian leadership and after that there will be a decision."

An Arab League official said in Cairo that foreign ministers on the follow-up committee would meet next Thursday, along with Abbas, after he had had a chance to consult with Arab leaders and with Mitchell.

In the past, Abbas has sought the endorsement of the Arab follow-up committee on the question of resuming the US-brokered direct peace talks.

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