Chinese envoy urges Israel to make gestures

Chinese Special Envoy to the Middle East Wu Sike on Sunday urged the Israeli government to take positive steps to create the atmosphere for resuming its peace talks with the Palestinians.

Wu made the appeal during his talks with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intelligence Services Dan Meridor in Jerusalem.

Wu said the Palestinian issue has an overall impact on the entire Middle East and thus should not be neglected or marginalized against the backdrop of profound changes in the region.

China supports every effort conducive to promoting the Israeli- Palestinian peace talks and the political solution to the Palestinian issue, he said.

Wu expressed the hope that all parties concerned would make practical efforts and in particular, Israel would take positive steps to halt the settlement building and improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, so as to create a good atmosphere for the resumption of the peace talks at an early date.

Noting that Israel attaches a great importance to China's role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, Meridor stressed that Israel is willing to restart talks with the Palestinians on the basis of the two-state solution to seek a proper settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Later in the day, Wu also held talks with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon.

During the meeting, Wu said China is highly concerned about the Middle East peace process, and it believes that making constant efforts for a political solution to the Palestinian issue will contribute to the peace and stability in the Middle East and the world.

Wu urged all related parties to take a long-term perspective and build mutual trust so as to restart the peace talks and make substantive progress.

Ayalon expressed his appreciation of China's mediation efforts and voiced Israel's willingness to resolve unsettled issues with the Palestinians through negotiations.

Wu, who arrived here Saturday for a four-day visit to the region, will head to the West Bank Monday to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.