Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced Sunday that she has sent formal invitations to her counterparts Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Jordanian Abdelelah al-Khatib for talks in Israel on the Arab peace initiative.

The letters formalized the invitation Livni extended to the ministers when she met with them in Cairo on May 10.

The initiative offers Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for a full withdrawal the pre-1967 boundaries, creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

	Advertisement

It was originally presented to Israel in 2002, but Israel would not agree to the right of return of refugees. It was recently revived and unanimously approved at the March Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Political turmoil in Israel after the release of the highly critical partial report of the Winograd war probe delayed talks on the initiative.

Aboul Gheit and al-Khatib were chosen by the Arab League as its representatives in negotiations on the peace initiative with Israel.

In Cairo, they presented the initiative's principles.

"The Arab world can contribute to the Israeli-Palestinian process," Livni said after the meeting. "It can give Israel a political horizon and aid the Palestinians in their advancement towards further agreements with Israel."

Livni told the Knesset on Sunday that she had added an open invitation to the formal letters, saying that any Arab league representative who wished to participate was also welcome at the talks in Israel.