EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton reiterated that "only negotiations can bring a lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," in a meeting Wednesday in Strasbourg with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
"It was a great pleasure to meet President Abbas to continue our discussions on the Middle East peace process and to prepare for the Quartet envoys meeting that I will host in Brussels on Sunday," Ashton said in a statement.
"We had a long, open and frank discussion to update one another on developments since we last talked in New York during the UN General Assembly week," she added.
Ashton’s statement continued: "My objective, in line with the Quartet statement, is clear: to do everything possible to find a way to bring the parties back to the negotiating table and reach the permanent solution that will meet the aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis. Only negotiations can bring a lasting resolution to the conflict."
Quoting sources close to Abbas, the Arabic-language Al-Quds newspaper said Ashton informed the Palestinian president that the EU projects to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinians which are carried out in the Palestinian Territories, "won’t be frozen due to the Palestinian move at the UN."
The EU is the largest donor to the Palestinians.