France will organize end May a meeting of Foreign Ministers from around 20 countries to prepare a peace conference involving Israel and the Palestinians later this year, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced.

Earlier this year, Ayrault’s predecessor, Laurent Fabius, announced France’s intention to host an international conference with the goal of agreeing the implementation of a two-state solution.

Although the initiative has received only lukewarm support from the United States, and a muted response from both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Ayrault said that an initial meeting of Foreign Ministers from interested countries will take place in Paris on 30 May. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians will be invited to this ministerial meeting summit, though they will be asked to join the peace conference later this year.

“There is no other solution to the conflict other than a two-state solution, Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem a shared capital,” Ayrault said.

“The two sides are more divided than ever. I’m not naive, but am acting in good faith. There is no alternative.

‘’The other option is fatalism and I refuse it,” he said.

According to the French Embassy in Tel Aviv, the May 30 meeting will be on the basis of the 2002 Arab League’s peace plan.

The list of those to be invited to the parley was not released, though it is expected to include representatives from the US, Russia, European Union, UN, Arab League and the members of the UN Security Council. The invitations to the meeting are expected to be sent out on Friday.

French envoy Pierre Vimont has recently held consultations with Israeli, Palestinian, American, Arab, European and other leaders over the proposed peace initiative.

American-led peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) were suspended in April 2014, after the Fatah faction of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas formed a unity government with Hamas. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since repeatedly expressed his willingness to meet with Abbas at any point without preconditions.