Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday he and United States Middle East envoy George Mitchell made progress in their second round of talks in a week on encouraging regional peace. Barak told Reuters after the three-hour meeting in London that he expected no imminent announcement on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, which the U.S. has demanded a halt.
Barak described the talks with Mitchell as "a very good, constructive discussion" and said they had addressed all aspects of the Middle East peace process including the Palestinian Authority, Syrian and Lebanese tracks. He added that he was optimistic about the chances of "preparing the ground for launching a major peace process".
Mitchell is expected in Israel next week for talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.