WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday to help break the stalemate in U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel, saying leaders on both sides must take political risks before an April deadline.
In White House talks overshadowed by the Ukraine crisis, Abbas acknowledged that time was running out for Middle East negotiations and called on Israel to go ahead with the release of a final group of Palestinian prisoners by the end of March to show it is serious about peace efforts.