Abbas: Will talk after settlement freeze

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he's open to peace negotiations with Israel, but only after Jewish settlement building is halted.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas said he has no "objection to returning to the negotiating table or holding any meetings in principle," but stressed settlements needed to be addressed first, the Qatari newspaper Gulf Times reported.

"We have said, and we will continue to say, that when there is a halt of settlement activity and recognized terms of reference, we are ready to resume negotiations," Abbas told the newspaper. "President Mubarak has stressed that (the status of) Jerusalem be included in the negotiations, that settlement activity must end and there must be clear terms of reference."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Ghei told reporters the United States would present its position on restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to him and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman when they visit Washington on Friday.

"The process is prolonged and will need patience, rigor and a thought-out position so that the Palestinians are not placed in a difficult position," Ghei told the official Mena news agency.