He set no date for their resumption.
A lot was riding on their resumption this week.
Now it has come up with a proposal that could lead to their resumption.
Even as Bank of America and GMAC signaled their resumption of foreclosures, a Citigroup executive said the company was confident in its procedures.
Their resumption in Islamabad now, in the fourth round of foreign-ministerial talks since 2004, when the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a "composite dialogue", achieved little.
Secretary Kerry's noble effort will move forward when Mr. Abbas returns to direct negotiations without the deal-blocking preconditions that have hindered their resumption.
After North Korean naval and military attacks which killed 50 South Koreans in 2010, Seoul halted high-level contact with Pyongyang, demanding an apology before their resumption.
But indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Cairo have stalled and political turmoil in Egypt hampers their resumption.
That was beyond their control.
They hadn't lived beyond their means.
