New York, 17 June-(ANA)-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Israel and the Palestinians to immediately resume peace negotiations aimed at securing a separate Palestinian state.
"We have been wasting too long (a) time on the peace and security in the Middle East," Ban told reporters.
"I sincerely hope that, on the basis of a two-state vision, Israel and the Palestinians will immediately begin their negotiations."
Ban urged the two sides to stick to the 2003 Middle East roadmap that calls on Israel to halt settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and for the Palestinians to rein in militants.
U.S. President Barack Obama also wants Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks as soon as possible and has welcomed as positive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conditional endorsement this week of the goal of Palestinian statehood. (ANA)
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