US upbeat about Doha round of Gaza ceasefire talks

The US Department of State expressed optimism about the possibility of establishing ceasefire in Gaza Strip and releasing the hostages through the talks that were resumed in Doha earlier Thursday. "Talks are moving forward in Doha. There are representatives on the ground there from Israel, from the United States, from Qatar and Egypt. And Qatar and Egypt are, as part of that process, are mediating with Hamas," Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the Dept. Vedant Patel told reporters. "Our partners assured us that Hamas would be represented in one way, shape or form, and they certainly would be part of the ongoing conversations--. And so, we have no doubt that the current modality will be able to serve the purpose it's designed to," Patel explained. "It is our view and it continues to be the case that the broader framework of what the president laid out at the end of May has generally been accepted. "-- And so, we feel confident in saying that the contours of what the president outlined on May 31st has been a ccepted," he affirmed. "And what we are focusing on now and what the talks are focusing on is working on the details of the implementation. "There, of course, are still gaps when it comes to some of the details. There are gaps when it comes to execution. "There are specific implementing measures that need to be agreed upon. But beyond that, I'm just not going to get into the specifics," Patel added. Source : Kuwait News Agency