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Last update - 22:10 24/11/2009
Abbas: Obama is 'doing nothing' for Middle East peace
By DPA
Tags: Israel news, Mahmoud Abbas 

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas complained that U.S. President Barack Obama "is doing nothing for the peace process" in the Middle East so far.

"For now he is doing nothing, but he has invited us to revive the peace process. I hope that in the future he can play a more important role," Abbas said in an interview published Tuesday by the Argentine daily Clarin.

Instead, Abbas again called upon Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to take a more active role as mediator in the Middle East.
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"He can do it, because he has good relations with the two parties in the conflict and I think he can help," said Abbas, who has visited with Lula in recent days, along with separate visits from President Shimon Peres and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Abbas expressed the hope that "the United States [will] put pressure on the Israelis to abide by international law, so that the roadmap can be implemented."

Abbas, who was in Argentina Tuesday, said he was pleased with the results of his ongoing South American tour, which initially took him to Brazil and was also to include a stay in Chile.

"President Lula can now take on a mediating role because he has ties of trust with the two parties in the conflict. Besides, he also has a good relationship with the U.S. government. Brazil can play that role," Abbas stressed.

He anticipated, however, that the Palestinians will not make any more concessions than they have already made.

"We accepted to have only 22 per cent of Palestine, and that is the biggest concession. And we also accepted that Israel had 78 per cent. So, what kind of concessions are they expecting from us?" he said.

"Now we are ready to announce our independence if the Israelis will allow us to," he said.

Abbas said, however, that independence would not be declared unilaterally.

"[The Israelis] are trying to say that we the Palestinians are seeking a unilateral decision. We are not seeking a unilateral decision," he said.
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  1.   From Brazil, we welcome the roll 22:21  |  Melissa 24/11/09
  2.   important 23:02  |  Belal 24/11/09
  3.   Obama: Talk But No Action 00:12  |  Vladek 25/11/09
  4.   Actually Abbas is doing nothing for Peace 01:30  |  John Q. Public 25/11/09
  5.   Obama ignores abbass like everyone else. 02:22  |  jewdoc`spouse 25/11/09
  6.   If I Was President Obama I`d Be Doing The Same Thing... 03:29  |  Yosemite 25/11/09
  7.   That`s NOT a concession, Abbas 04:26  |  SDHD 25/11/09
  8.   That`s because YOU are doing nothing, Abbas 04:27  |  Jasper 25/11/09
  9.   and abb-ass is saying this 04:32  |  shoot 25/11/09
  10.   22 % Is Not Enough. 05:06  |  Reader 25/11/09
  11.   Obama has done nothing for himself 05:12  |  Mark Lincoln 25/11/09
  12.   The answer is obvious Mr. Abbas 05:14  |  Mark Lincoln 25/11/09
  13.   expecting Obama to help causes problems 05:54  |  Charles Morgan 25/11/09
  14.   Abbas is doing nothing for peace 06:32  |  Observer 25/11/09
  15.   #14 Observer a near-sighted prognosticator 02:04  |  Ron 26/11/09
  16.   #10 Reader-Edmonton 18:07  |  *BEN JABO 26/11/09
  17.   #15 Ron - Let`s start from the beginning 18:38  |  *BEN JABO 26/11/09
  18.   Obama can`t be concerned with Israel 18:50  |  *BEN JABO 26/11/09
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