Kerry sees progress in Mideast peace talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that a progress was made in his efforts to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Kerry has been in the region since Thursday for shuttle diplomacy with Palestinian and Israeli leaders in his fifth visit to the region since he began his task in March. But after a meeting with Abbas in Ramallah Sunday, Kerry told reporters there were some matters needed firstly to be settled to complete the progress. He promised to reveal more stuff in a news conference before he leaves the region later in the day. The negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in 2010 over a dispute on Israel's settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians recognize as the capital of their future state. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Kerry's meeting with Abbas was "positive and thorough." He said that the Palestinians cooperate positively with Kerry, accusing Israel of "putting obstacles on the way of peace." Erekat was referring to Israeli plans to build 930 new settler homes in an East Jerusalem settlement. "We do not have conditions to resume the negotiations," Erekat said. "When we call for the principle of the two-state solution, stopping the settlements and releasing the old prisoners, we are talking about Israeli commitments, not Palestinian conditions," he asserted.