Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would be resumed in "next few weeks".

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) meets with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt's Red Sea resort city, on May 11, 2009. Netanyahu arrived here Monday noon for his first foreign visit since taking office in late March.[Zhang Ning/Xinhua]

He made the remarks at a joint press conference after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, which is his first foreign visit since he took office in late March.

"We want peace with Palestinians, we want both Palestinians and Israelis to live together in peace side by side, we want to start peace talks with the Palestinians in the next few weeks," Netanyahu said.

For his part, Mubarak said "It is important to resume the peace process through a clear policy," adding that "peace is not impossible, peace is made by strong people, brave people who are able to take hard decisions."

Netanyahu's visit came just one week before his planned visit to the United States, when a showdown of his Mideast policy is expected.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2009)