RAMALLAH, Saturday, June 29, 2019 (WAFA) - US President Donald Trump‘s remarks at a press conference in Osaka, Japan, are not encouraging and indicate that the US administration has not learnt anything from the fiasco of the Manama workshop, today said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas.

"The stunning failure of the Manama workshop, despite the policy of punishment and intimidation used by the Trump administration against everyone, should constitute a clear message to Mr. Trump and his administration that the policy of dictates, threats and coercion is no longer effective with our steadfast people and its legitimate leadership headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, which rejected all suspicious deals aimed at the liquidation of our national cause,” said Abu Rudeineh in a statement.

"The US president relies on a team that is totally biased toward Israel. This biased team cannot offer solutions that can lead to a lasting and just peace,” he added.

Abu Rudeineh stressed that the positions of the Palestinian leadership are based on United Nations resolutions, the preservation of the rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the establishment of its independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just and agreed solution to the refugee issue.

He said that Palestinian rights are neither sold nor bought and that no one in the world can force the Palestinians to give up their rights, regardless of the challenges or temptations.

"The road to peace is clear and it must be based on the UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, not on economic illusions that replace land for peace with prosperity for peace," he said, stressing that the Palestinian leadership is committed to achieving a just and lasting peace based on UN resolutions and the preservation of Palestinian rights.

M.K.