U.S. Scrambles -- Again -- to Prevent Collapse of Mideast Peace Talks
George Mitchell returns to Mideast for a fresh round of diplomacy.
WASHINGTON Sept. 28, 2010— -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he will wait at least a week before deciding whether to break off peace talks with the U.S. and Israel, buying the Obama administration a bit more time as it began yet another urgent round of diplomacy in the hopes of preventing the fragile peace drive from collapsing.
The administration sent its top negotiator, former senator George Mitchell, to the region Monday night, one day after a 10 month Israeli settlement construction freeze ended. He's expected to meet the Israelis on Wednesday and the Palestinians on Thursday.
Israel's government defied repeated calls to extend the moratorium from President Obama, who devoted much of his annual address to the United Nations on Thursday to the topic. Abbas has repeatedly threatened to walk out on talks if construction resumes.
At a press conference in Paris Monday, however, Abbas left the door open for talks to continue, telling reporters "we will not have any quick reactions."
In another sign they are not yet ready to walk away from talks, both sides accepted an offer from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to host a meeting between them next month.
Abbas is expected to consult next week with the Arab League, whose support could provide him political cover to continue negotiations. The United States has been pushing Arab countries to support the process, another major part of Obama's U.N. speech.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Arab leaders last week with that very message, and the peace process was a major topic when she met Monday with Syria's foreign minister in New York, a sign that the U.S. plans to broaden peace talks to involve all of Israel's neighbors even as negotiations appear endangered.
Clinton's spokesman PJ Crowley said today that the U.S. was "disappointed" that Israel chose not to extend the moratorium, but vowed a U.S. commitment to continue to push the process forward.
As the clock ticked down to the deadline to extend the freeze on Sunday, Clinton placed calls to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. officials urged both sides to resist taking steps that could endanger progress. Clinton and Netanyahu spoke again by phone and Mitchell spoke with Abbas Monday.
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