WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Donald Trump and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday they would continue efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East, the White House announced.
"President Trump and President Abbas reaffirmed the commitment of both the United States and the Palestinian Authority to achieving a genuine and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians," the statement read.
The two leaders met in the White House in Washington to discuss the "advancement of Middle East peace and the strengthening of United States-Palestinian relations." Trump stressed a comprehensive peace could only be attained through direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Palestinians have been seeking to create an independent state in the territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, within the borders that existed before 1967. Israel has been skeptical of a UN-promoted solution that would allow for peaceful co-existence of an Israeli and a Palestinian states.
