Oman welcomes joint statement on resumption of talks

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman has welcomed the joint statement issued by the President of the United States of America, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Emir of the State of Qatar, regarding the necessity of completing the ceasefire agreement and releasing prisoners and detainees, and the call to resume negotiations on August 15 in Doha or Cairo,

The statement appreciated the ongoing efforts being made to reach this agreement.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed, in a statement, the position of the Sultanate of Oman on the importance of adhering to what was agreed upon and implementing it without any delay, and called on all parties to resume the urgent negotiations referred to in the statement; to achieve the desired results, and alleviating the suffering of the wretched Palestinian people

Talks

Leaders of the United States, Egypt, and Qatar on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on August 15 to finalize a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The three countries, which have been trying to mediate a deal, said in a joint statement the talks could take place in either Doha or Cairo.

"A framework agreement is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude," they said.

"There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement."

The leaders also offered to present "a final bridging proposal" resolving the remaining issues. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli negotiators would be there.

The aim, he said, was "to finalize the details and implement the framework agreement."

There was no immediate comment from Hamas. The statement came as a part of an effort by the three leaders to jumpstart talks, with growing fears of a possible broader conflict in the region involving Iran after the killing of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.

A senior U.S. administration official said there was no expectation that the agreement would be signed by next week given serious issues that include the sequencing of the exchanges between Hamas and Israel.

Movement was needed on both sides of the table, the person said.

The U.S. official said the statement was not designed to influence Iran but that any escalation would jeopardize hope of getting an Israel-Hamas deal done.

Iran's mission to the United Nations said earlier on Thursday that it was pursuing two priorities simultaneously.

"First, establishing a durable ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of the occupiers from this territory," it said, as well as "punishing the aggressor" for the July 31 assassination of former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.