France's Hollande postpones Middle East conference to summer

France's President Francois Hollande listens to a question during a morning radio show on France's Europe 1 station in Paris, France, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Miguel Medina/Pool

PARIS/VIENNA (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday an international conference due in late May in Paris to help relaunch peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis would be postponed to ensure the United States would attend.

With U.S. efforts to broker a two-state accord in tatters and Washington focused on its November presidential election, Paris has lobbied major powers to hold a conference that would set the groundwork to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table before the end of the year.