The Egyptian foreign minister on Monday held talks with his Saudi counterpart on the Middle East peace negotiations after arriving in Riyadh on a surprise visit, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abuelgheit and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal discussed developments in the direct Israeli- Palestinian talks that were relaunched last month, particularly the issue of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, DPA reported.
A partial, 10-month freeze instituted by Israel on the construction expired on September 26, despite threats by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he would walk out of the peace talks if the moratorium was not renewed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly stated that he can and will not extend the freeze because of internal opposition in his right-leaning cabinet.
United States mediators are working to bridge the gap between Israel and the Palestinians on the settlement issue before the Arab League meets later this week to decide whether to continue supporting the direct talks.
Abbas is expected to meet with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak on Tuesday morning for further discussions on the peace talks.