Palestinian International Cooperation and Planning Minister Nabil Shaath is due to hold talks on Monday with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, said PA officials.
According to the official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA, the talks will address the latest developments in the conflict with Israel following the visit to Paris last Thursday and Friday of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The French and Israeli sides discussed the regional situation at length, but failed to agree on the core issue, notably the rapid implementation of the Mitchell report's recommendations.
France also urged Sharon to revise his position on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and to refrain from destabilizing his authority.
But neither President Jacques Chirac nor Prime Minister Lionel Jospin managed to extract a guarantee from Sharon that he would not seek to remove Arafat, diplomatic sources told the agency.
Vedrine will inform Shaath of the talks with Sharon and his country’s vision of how the peace negotiations can be resumed.
Israel sees in France a pro-Arab party, according to an Israeli analyst who was commenting on Sharon’s visit to Paris, speaking to Al Jazeera satellite TV – Albawaba.com
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