(CNN) -- Israeli-Palestinian peace talks aren't likely to resume unless Israel reinstates its moratorium on building new settlements in the West Bank, Egypt's foreign minister said Sunday after meetings with U.S. mediator George Mitchell.
"The Egyptian position is that we understand the Palestinian position, which demands suitable conditions in order to go on to direct talks," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said. "The conditions are not suitable at the moment".
Israel's freeze on new construction expired September 26, with work on new projects beginning hours later. Palestinian officials have said they won't return to the recently resumed peace talks while new Israeli settlements are being built on land the Palestinians consider part of a future state.
Gheit, Mitchell and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Sunday in Cairo to discuss the future of direct negotiations, which resumed in September after an 18-month hiatus.
After the session, Gheit said Egypt has asked the United States to keep pushing the parties toward a resumption of talks, "and Egypt will do the same to achieve the goal of an Israel settlement freeze to maintain the security of negotiations".
CNN
