WASHINGTON — Over two dozen foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, will convene in Paris June 3 for an international conference on advancing a two-state solution in the Middle East, but neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority will send envoys. While Kerry agreed to attend, the United States has expressed ambivalence about the French initiative, saying without the will of the two parties, the peace process won’t succeed. France, for its part, said it was well aware of the difficulties, but something must be done to break the deadlock and get the parties back to the table.

“The first and most important thing is that the leaders themselves in the region have got … to make some tough decisions,” State Department spokesperson John Kirby told journalists at the State Department press briefing May 30. “And they have to show in real ways, not just rhetoric, that they’re willing to take the steps necessary to get us to a two-state solution, and to date they haven’t done that.”

Kerry “is not going to turn up his nose at any good ideas that could get us closer to seeing a two-state solution in place,” Kirby said June 1. “And so he looks forward to discussing all manner of options and alternatives that might come up on Friday.”

“The Israelis and Palestinians will resolve their differences when they sit down face to face and actually engage in constructive conversations about resolving their differences,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said May 31. “But nobody in the international community, including the United States, can make those difficult decisions for the parties. Ultimately, the parties themselves have to make those decisions.”