France seeking support for Mideast plan

PARIS (AP) — France is trying to overcome resistance and rally international support for a draft U.N. plan setting a two-year deadline for peace talks on Palestinian statehood.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is meeting in Paris on Tuesday with the secretary-general of the Arab League, Egyptian and Palestinian ministers, and former Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Fabius wants support for a draft U.N. resolution that the French hope would be a catalyst for peace talks. The French, seeking a higher-profile role in Middle East diplomacy, see their draft as more palatable than a Jordanian-backed resolution also under discussion.

European countries are divided over the French plan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't like it.

Fabius discussed the draft Monday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, holding talks around Europe on the Mideast.