Fabius welcomes resumption of Mideast peace talks on Tuesday

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Sunday welcomed the announcement that long-stalled peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians would resume next Tuesday in Washington. "I salute this potentially major advance which comes after three years of suspension and I express the wish that these negotiations will lead to an agreement," the Foreign Minister said in a statement. The breakthrough, which remains to be transformed into a concrete agreement, came after several visits to the region by US Secretary-of-State John Kerry, who pressured the parties to come back to the negotiating table. "It is in the interest of everyone to put an end to the conflict and to guarantee the creation of a viable and sovereign Palestinian State, living in peace and security beside Israel," Fabius observed. He promised that France "will spare no effort" to facilitate the negotiations that are resuming and, "when the time comes, participate in the implementation of a peace accord." The peace talks stalled three years ago largely because of Israel's ongoing and illegal settlement expansion policy in the West Bank and in Arab East Jerusalem. It is still unclear what outcome there now is to Palestinian and international demands for a halt to settlement expansion. Israel has also so far refused to negotiate a peace agreement on the basis of the 1967 borders, a basis largely supported by the international community. It is still unclear if this basis will be that benchmark for the fledgling talks to resume in the US next week.