国际英语新闻：Spokesman denies Abbas drew up conditions for direct talks

RAMALLAH, July 6, (Xinhua) -- A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday denied reports saying the president had listed three conditions for shifting to face-to-face negotiations with Israel from indirect peace talks.

"Abbas had not drawn up conditions," the spokesman Nabil Abu Rdineh said. He added Abbas had agreed with Washington, which sponsors the proximity talks, that moving to direct negotiations " is subject to a progress in the borders and security issues," the two dealt by the proximities.

The progress is needed "so the Palestinian negotiator would know what he is negotiating on," Abu Rdineh told voice of Palestine radio.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel's Maariv newspaper reported that Abbas wanted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept one of his three conditions to go back to direct negotiations.

Abba's alleged conditions were resuming the talks from where they stopped in 2008, recognizing that the Palestinian state would be on a space equal to the areas Israel occupied in 1967, including a land swap if needed, and freezing settlement construction.

If Israel accepted the occupied area to be the land of the future state, with East Jerusalem being its capital and the United States guaranteeing that there will be no "provocative" settlement buildings, "then the things would be paved for going forward," Abu Rdineh said.

Washington launched the negotiations in May, aiming to bridge the gaps between the two sides, and the Arabs said they should not last for more than four months.

Abu Rdineh said the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) would report to the Arab League (AL) about the process of the negotiations and will listen to AL's recommendations whether a progress was made or not.