Israel PM to Meet Kerry in Rome on Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in coming days in Rome to discuss stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians, an Israeli official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu and Kerry would be meet on Sunday and again on Monday on "issues relating to security and peace."

The meeting comes ahead of the publication of a report by the Middle East Quartet -- the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia -- on how to restart peace efforts.

Media have said the report is expected to be critical of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu recently spoke over the phone with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

An on Tuesday he called Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed "key aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process," according to a Russian statement.

The Israeli premier will also be meeting U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Jerusalem on Monday. The U.N. chief will be in Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of a Middle East tour.

On Monday, EU foreign ministers backed a French initiative to organize an international conference on the Middle East, aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks deadlocked since 2014.

The European Union has been pressing hard to get the peace process back on track based on a two-state, Israel and Palestinian, solution.

Netanyahu is opposed to the French initiative and has described it as an "international diktat" that should not come in the place of direct talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Palestinians support the international community's involvement, saying that years of talks with Israel have not yielded their desired results.

A statement from Netanyahu's office said the premier would also be meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi during his visit to Rome.