?Palestinian state only option?

Mitchell, speaking after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, urged both sides to meet their obligations under the 2003 road map that commits Israel to halting settlement expansion. US President Barack Obama had made it clear ?the only viable resolution to this conflict is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states,? Mitchell said. Speaking later after meeting Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni, Mitchell said Washington sought ?a comprehensive regional peace which not only involves Israel and the Palestinians, but Syrians, the Lebanese and all the surrounding countries.? Abbas, after his talks with Mitchell, made no comment to reporters. The Palestinian leader has said talks with Israel will be useless unless Netanyahu accepts a two-state solution and freezes settlements. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement the United States had ?made clear its intention to reinvigorate Middle East peace talks, as well as its expectation that both parties implement their obligations under the road map.? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads a conservative government that could collapse if he halts settlement construction, is scheduled to set out his position in a speech on Sunday. Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak yesterday urged Netanyahu to accept the principle of a Palestinian state; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.