Obama in separate calls to Netanyahu, Abbas on peace talks

The US president made separate calls to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas Thursday night. He commended their “leadership and courage in resuming final status negotiations” and reaffirmed US readiness to support the parties in achieving a just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution.”  He underscored that the parties have much work to do in the days and months ahead. To Abbas, the president promised “to continue to work closely with the Palestinian Authority to achieve this goal.” The White House issued separate statements on the two calls.