France will on Friday host an international meeting in Paris in a bid to revive the moribund Israel-Palestinian peace process, even though its efforts have received a lukewarm response, AFP reports.
Neither Israel nor the Palestinians will be represented at Friday's talks, which aim to lay the ground for a fully-fledged peace conference to be held by the end of the year.
But Washington -- the traditional mediator -- has been hesitant to get behind the new initiative, with Secretary of State John Kerry stalling for weeks before finally agreeing to attend.
The conference will nonetheless bring together foreign ministers from some 30 Western and Arab countries, as well as representatives of the United Nations and European Union.