Egypt: basis to move to direct peace talks lacking

CAIRO —Pressure intensified on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to agree to direct talks with Israel as Egypt held separate back-to-back meetings with the two sides Sunday in search of a compromise.

Abbas says he won't negotiate directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unless Israel agrees to recognize its 1967 frontier as a basis for drawing the borders of a future Palestinian state and accepts the deployment of an international force to guard them. Netanyahu has refused to be pinned down on a framework for negotiations.

In an effort to sound out the prospects for a move to direct talks, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with Abbas, Netanyahu and U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell separately Sunday in Cairo.

Egypt has friendly ties with both Israel and Abbas' Palestinian Authority, and Mubarak — like Washington — is pushing to narrow the divide between the two sides and coax them back to the negotiating table.

None of the leaders — nor the U.S. envoy — spoke after the meetings, but Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, told reporters that there is still work to be done to get the Palestinians to move to direct talks.

"There must be a strong Israeli strategic move that would deepen Palestinian trust in Israel's intentions, so we can move from indirect to direct talks," Aboul Gheit said. "Egypt thinks there is the need for direct talks, that they are the road to reach a settlement ... but to have these direct talks, the atmosphere must be ripe and enough progress made."

Cairo has called for a more hands-on U.S. role with the two sides to lay the groundwork for direct negotiations. Aboul Gheit said this could include at least a general framework from Washington for the final settlement.

Egypt's top diplomat also said there is still more discussion and diplomacy to come to narrow the divide and build trust between the two sides.

"We are still hopeful that we can bridge that gap, the gap between the needs of security for Israel and the borders for the Palestinians," Aboul Gheit said. "You have to create the basis to proceed from indirect to direct talks. That is still lacking. We need to help the Americans and both parties to come closer to each other."

He said Mubarak received a message Sunday from President Barack Obama and a telephone call from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the aim to expedite the move to direct talks.

Aboul Gheit said he hoped that by September there would be enough progress to allow the Palestinians and Israel to enter direct talks, if not sooner.