Abbas officially accepts French peace initiative

Political Advisor to Palestinian President Nimr Hammad said on Monday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe that he accepts the French Peace Initiative. Hammad said that although the Palestinian President accepted the proposition to hold an international peace conference in Paris, Abbas said that Israel must also accept the initiative and to negotiate on the basis of the 1967 borders. Juppe held discussion with Israeli and Palestinian officials over the past two days regarding the French Peace Initiative. He also discussed holding an economic-political conference by the end of this month, where the two sides can meet once they agree to the initiative. Juppe also announced a draft peace conference to be held in Paris in mid-July 2011. The French Peace Initiative is based on US President''s Barack Obama''s "Arab Spring " speech. During that speech Obama said that the two sides must negotiate a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with agreed land swaps.