Palestinian President Abbas gets first Obama call to foreign leader -- promise to work for peace

Obama vows to seek 'durable' Mideast peace in Abbas call

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) – US President Barack Obama promised to work towards a "durable peace" in the Middle East during a phone call to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said.

 

Obama called the Palestinian leader a day after taking the oath of office and assured him that he intended "to work with him as partners to establish a durable peace in the region," Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

 

Obama told Abbas that the president was the first foreign leader he called since taking office, Rudeina said.

 

"This is my first phone call to a foreign leader and I'm making it only hours after I took office," Rudeina quoted Obama as telling Abbas.

 

Obama and his secretary of state-designate Hillary Clinton vowed to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict immediately after taking office.

 

During his inauguration speech on Tuesday, Obama pledged a new approach to the Muslim world.

 

"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect," he said.