This Article is From Mar 19, 2015

France Hopes for Relaunch of Mideast Peace Talks After Israel Vote

France Hopes for Relaunch of Mideast Peace Talks After Israel Vote

File Photo of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Paris:

France on Wednesday called for a relaunch of the Middle East process based on a two-state solution, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won a closely-fought election.

"Only the creation of viable sovereign Palestinian state... will ensure peace and prosperity in the Middle East," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement, calling for negotiations to resume to achieve "a comprehensive and lasting peace accord".

During the election campaign, Netanyahu said he would not accept the establishment of a Palestinian state, a key part of the two-state solution backed by the EU and which he had accepted in 2009.

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