Kerry meets Palestine President, Jordanian FM in Paris

US Secretary of State John Kerry held separate meetings in Paris Wednesday with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the US-sponsored Palestine-Israeli peace talks. Kerry's meeting with Abbas, which lasted for few hours, focused on progress of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, Jen Psaki, US State Department spokeswoman, was quoted by French media as saying after the meeting. She said the negotiations have reached an important phase, and the US was trying to narrow the gap between the two parties. Psaki said the timing of Kerry's meeting with Abbas in Paris was appropriate. She meanwhile said Kerry met with Judeh and highlighted the important role of Jordan in the region and within the peace process. The two foreign ministers, she said, discussed issues on agenda of Palestinian-Israeli talks. Kerry had during his recent tour in the Middle East proposed a framework agreement that would pave way for a final settlement for issues like borders, security, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. But the Israelis and Palestinians are still far away from common grounds as the Jewish state was still exercising its unilateral provocative measures and settlement construction activities.