Indirect Middle East peace talks should begin soon, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday in the first public comment by an Israeli official on a US initiative.

Lieberman made the remarks during a visit to Baku, where he told Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev that in his estimation, indirect talks with the Palestinians would begin shortly.

His comments came a day after Palestinian officials said President Mahmoud Abbas agreed in principle to indirect talks with Israel under US mediation but requested a number of guarantees. 

-AFP/NOW Lebanon