Egypt reiterates support for French-led Mideast peace conference

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Sunday with French special peace envoy Pierre Vimon in Cairo and reiterated Egypt’s support for a French-led Mideast peace conference to be held before year end, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

France has been urging an international peace conference to revive the idle Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, yet the bid has officially been rejected by Israel.

“Vimon listened to the Egyptian vision on how to encourage both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to resume the peace process and engage in negotiations,” Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in the statement.

The Egyptian foreign minister also commended Paris efforts to push forward Mideast peace, stressing the necessity for getting fruitful results out of the planned conference.

Vimon, whose regional tour also includes Saudi Arabia and Jordan, informed Shoukry of the results of his recent tours to key world capital cities to coordinate for the peace conference that will be held at the level of foreign ministers, according to the statement.

The international community blames Israel for the deadlock of the Middle East peace process due to its settlement expansion policy that is rejected even by its strongest ally, the United States.

Source:  Xinhua