Kerry opens door to extended talks for Israeli-Palestinian deal

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks before opening the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission Plenary Session with Georgia's Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili at the State Department in Washington February 26, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged on Wednesday he hopes at best to get Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a "framework" for a peace agreement by April 29, but that a final deal could take another nine months or more.

Kerry brought the two sides back into negotiations on July 29 after a three-year gap and, at the time, said that "Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months."