RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he would immediately hold peace talks with Israel if the United Nations recognizes Palestine as a non-member state.
"We're ready to go back to negotiations straightaway. Going to the U.N. is not a substitute for negotiations. We are in need of negotiations to solve the final status of issues that face us both," the Palestinian Ma'an news agency quoted Abbas as saying in Ramallah Wednesday.