France seeking support from Europeans, Mideast for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations deadline

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki, left, shakes hand with Arab League secretary general Nabil Al-Arabi, right, prior to a meeting with French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014. France is trying to overcome resistance and rally international support for a draft U.N. plan seeking a two-year deadline for peace talks on Palestinian statehood. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (The Associated Press)

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, third from right, meets with Palestinian ambassadot to France Hael Al Fahoum, left, and Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki, second from left, at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014. France is trying to overcome resistance and rally international support for a draft U.N. plan seeking a two-year deadline for peace talks on Palestinian statehood. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (The Associated Press)

PARIS – France is trying to overcome resistance and rally international support for a draft U.N. plan setting a two-year deadline for peace talks on Palestinian statehood.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is meeting in Paris on Tuesday with the secretary-general of the Arab League, Egyptian and Palestinian ministers, and former Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Fabius wants support for a draft U.N. resolution that the French hope would be a catalyst for peace talks. The French, seeking a higher-profile role in Middle East diplomacy, see their draft as more palatable than a Jordanian-backed resolution also under discussion.

European countries are divided over the French plan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't like it.

Fabius discussed the draft Monday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, holding talks around Europe on the Mideast.