Trump is ready to work with Abbas, Kushner says

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Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser, said that he is "ready to work with President Abbas," a Palestinian newspaper reported on Sunday.

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, spoke in an interview with the newspaper Al Quds. Referring to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the interview was published with the headline, "I am ready to work with President Abbas, if he wishes."

May 7, 2018: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during his meeting with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. /VCG Photo

In the interview, which was published in Arabic, Kushner gave a direct message to the Palestinian people: “You deserve to have a bright future, now is the time for both the Israelis and Palestinians to strengthen their leadership and re-focus them to encourage them to open up towards a solution, and not fear trying,” the newspaper reported.

Washington has said it has a peace plan in the works that could be released soon.

Abbas and the Palestinian leadership have refused to meet with Trump's team following his decision in December to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the US Embassy there. The Palestinians want their own future state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

Feb. 23, 2017: US President Donald Trump speaks while Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser, left, smiles during a meeting with manufacturing executives in the State Dining Room of the White House. /VCG Photo

Kushner, who has taken the lead on Trump's plan to forge a Middle East peace deal and who represented Trump at the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem in May, said he did not "wish to talk about the details of the deal that we’re working on." But he said it would be ready "soon."

If President Abbas is ready to go back to the negotiating table, then we are ready to participate in the discussion, but if it’s not the case, then we are going to make the plan public, Kushner added.

(With input from Reuters)