Sunday 29 May 2011

Report: Abbas, Peres held secret talks

Published today 11:33
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas held secret talks with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres in April, Israeli media reported Friday.

Abbas and Peres met in London to try and revive the stalled peace process, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported.

Since the meeting, the two have spoken on the telephone on secure lines, the report added.

Quoting a source close to the Israeli president, the newspaper said Peres was horrified that the talks had been exposed.

"President Peres is the last Israeli who continues to enjoy a direct channel of dialogue with the Palestinians," the source told Maariv.

"It is highly unfortunate that this channel will be sealed due to being made public."

The report did not detail the agenda of the alleged meeting.

Peres, whose position is largely ceremonial, is regarded as an elder statesman of Israeli politics. He held talks with US President Barack Obama in the White House in April.

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