Obama presses Abbas on direct talks with Israel

Could there be signs of a thaw in the long-frozen Middle East peace talks? President Barack Obama discussed the stalled process by telephone with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, underlining the importance of "direct discussions" with Israel while avoiding "provocative actions" that damage already-bleak prospects for ending the conflict, White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

In Ramallah, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said the Palestinian leader had "informed President Obama about the contents of a message he will send to the Israeli prime minister," but did not elaborate on the contents, AFP reported.

Talks between the two sides have been in limbo since late 2010, and most observers doubt that any progress can be made until after the November elections settle whether Obama or one of his Republican rivals will hold the reins of American foreign policy.

Carney said that Obama had "reaffirmed America's commitment to Middle East Peace and to the overall objectives outlined by the Quartet" -- the diplomatic grouping of the United States, Europe, Russia, and the United Nations that has worked to find a way to end the conflict.

Obama also praised efforts by Jordan "to foster direct discussions between Israel and the Palestinians" with exploratory talks in January, calling them "an important contribution to the cause of peace," and both he and Abbas "agreed on the necessity of the two-state solution," according to Carney.

"They also discussed the ongoing need to build trust between the parties and for all sides to refrain from provocative actions that make it more difficult to build such trust. They agreed to remain in close contact about these important issue," Carney said.

Rudeina told AFP that Obama, who met earlier this month with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had briefed Abbas on those talks and assured him "that the Middle East peace process has been his top priority since he came to office."

Obama had told reporters as he met with Netanyahu in the Oval Office that they would discuss "how we can, potentially, bring about a calmer set of discussions between the Israelis and the Palestinians and arrive at a peaceful resolution to that longstanding conflict."

"It is a very difficult thing to do in light of the context right now, but I know that the Prime Minister remains committed to trying to achieve that," Obama said.

Obama has called for a two-state solution to the conflict, with the borders of Israel and a future Palestinian state derived from boundaries from before the Six-Day War of 1967, with mutually-agreed land swaps.

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