国际英语新闻：U.S. Mideast envoy meets Egyptian FM, intelligence chief

CAIRO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman Sunday on relaunching the stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks.

A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry affirmed that the United States is trying to create "suitable conditions" for reviving the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis.

The two sides also touched on Egypt's initiatives in this regard and agreed on continuing efforts to create necessary conditions for bringing about peace, the statement added.

Earlier in the day, Mitchell emphasized in Amman his country's support for the two-state solution, which envisages the creation of an independent and viable Palestinian state that lives side by side with Israel in peace and security, labelling the two-state formula as the "only realistic solution to the conflict."

Mitchell's latest tour to the Middle East included stops at Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian territories and Jordan.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace talks came to a standstill when Israel launched a military offensive against the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and efforts to restart them have failed due to the continuation of Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.