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Israel hopes for resumption of negotiations with Palestine: defense minister

30 July 2011 00:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said here on Friday that Israel hoped to find a way to enable understanding between members of the Quartet which will help resume talks between Israel and Palestine, APA reports siting Xinhua.

Barak told reporters after his meeting with United Nations Secretery-General Ban Ki-moon that Israel is "trying to find a formula to enable understanding between the members of the Quartet which will enable the resumption of negotiations (with Palestine)".

"I cannot promise you that it will happen but we are still trying to do our best to enable it," he said.

Barak said that Israel is very interested in the long-term prospect of the resumption of the peace process.

"We hope a formula will be found that will satisfy the needs of all parties," he said.

Concerning the Palestinians’ intention to seek statehood in the UN, Barak said that the world body has its own rules, and everything should follow these rules. However, he strongly preferred to see negotiations undergoing between Israel and Palestine, which could lead to peace agreement between the two.

The Middle East Quartet, which comprises European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, failed to achieve any progress on reviving the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at Washington meeting on July 11.

The peace talks stopped last year when Israel resumed building Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which the Palestinians need as part of their future state.