TEL AVIV- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Monday for the first high-level talks between the two sides since they began indirect peace negotiations two months ago. The meeting was taking place at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, ahead of talks in Washington on Tuesday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama, who wants the two sides to move to direct peace negotiations. The ministers made no statements before their talks and officials said there would be no joint statement afterwards. Barak's office said on Sunday that he would discuss "various issues related to relations between Israel and the Palestinians." Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, has been mediating between them since May with the aim of bringing them to the same table to resolve differences over the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On Friday, an Obama adviser denied that little progress had been made, saying "gaps have been narrowed." Netanyahu wants to move to direct negotiations as soon as possible. Palestinian leaders say the indirect talks have not yet made enough progress to justify face-to-face talks. They want clear answers from Israel on issues of borders and security - meaning the frontiers of the future Palestinian state and an end to all military occupation.