Brussels, 04/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met two Ministers of the Palestinian Authority in Athens on Wednesday, Nabil Saat and Saeb Erekat, for the first high-level talks for at least two months. This meeting was to precede the resumption of talks on security in the region. "It's the first sign of a genuine intention to stop the violence and begin talks", Shimon Peres told the press. Talks were held on the fringe of a conference in which the EU's High Representative for external policy took part. Javier Solana first saw the two delegations separately and it was on his initiative that the two side met, his spokesperson assured us, for whom this meeting is "a very encouraging sign for the resumption of dialogue". Before leaving for Athens, the Palestinian Minister for International Cooperation, Nabil Shaat called upon the European Union to take a more active role in the peace process. "Europe must mobilize to provide input to the future" of the process, said Nabil Shaat, for whom the United States is playing a "negative" role in the peace process.