US President Donald Trump has invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House, in a first phone call on Friday between the two leaders since Trump took office. “President Trump has extended an official invitation to President Abbas to visit the White House soon to discuss ways to resume the political process, stressing his commitment to a peace process that will lead to a real peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis,” said Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah. White House spokesman Sean Spicer in Washington later confirmed Trump had invited Abbas to a meeting at the White House very soon. “President Abbas stressed the commitment to peace as a strategic choice to establish a Palestinian State alongside the state of Israel,” Abu Rdainah said, according to the official Palestinian WAFA news agency. While one of the first calls to a foreign leader made by Trump’s Democratic predecessor Barack Obama was to Abbas, Trump has been cautious in his contacts with the Arab world.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 11, 2017 06:43 UTC