Brussels, 29/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - During her three-day visit to the Middle East, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton held meetings with Palestinian Authority and Israeli leaders and called for the resumption of negotiations in order, as she said on Monday 29 August, to “find ways in which both countries could find the future together”. In the course of her visit, Ashton took part in the ceremony to lay the first stone in the construction of the new security complex in Jenin, in the West Bank. The complex, construction of which is being co-financed by the EU to the tune of €9.24 million, “will contribute importantly to the rule of law and security of the people”, she said on Sunday 28 August. Construction is due to be completed by 2013, and the complex will house the General Commander, the Brigadier, the National Guard Service and the Police. This project is only one part of the €40 million aid provided by the EU as part of the reform of the security sector in the Palestinian territories. After discussions with President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salem Fayyad, Ashton said that her desire “is to see the peace negotiations restarted and for them to reach a satisfactory conclusion”. Abbas called on the high representative to support the accession of a Palestinian state to the United Nations, according to AFP. Indicating that it is only once it has seen the final text to be submitted to the United Nations that the EU will decide on its position, Ashton declined to comment further on this highly controversial issue on which it is far from clear that the EU member states will be able to come to a common position. (J.K./transl.rt)