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13 December 2013 [18:20] - Today.Az


US Secretary of State John Kerry meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday in Jerusalem to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, dpa reported.

Kerry is seeking to push Israeli and Palestinian leaders to reach a "framework agreement" by the end of January, seeking to break the deadlocked talks that began in July after an absence of any direct talks of almost three years.

Israel Radio quoted Israeli officials as saying that no breakthrough was expected during the visit and that an extension of the nine-month deadline on a peace accord set at the start of the talks would likely be necessary.

The news comes after the secretary of state met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday on his second visit to the region this month.

Kerry also met chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators Tzipi Livni and Saeb Erekat in Washington on Monday.

Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has been a major point of contention in the talks. The Palestinian negotiating team resigned last month over the issue.


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