Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama held 'positive' and wide-ranging talks by telephone on Monday, the premier's office announced. 'Discussions were positive and covered a range of subjects, and Mr. Netanyahu indicated to (Obama) that he intends to make a political statement next week setting out the broad outlines of his government's policy to secure peace and security,' it said in a statement. 'The two leaders agreed to maintain close and continual contact,' the statement said. The telephonic discussions came as US Middle East envoy George Mitchell was due in Tel Aviv late Monday at the start of a new Middle East tour aimed at kick- starting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. According to his programme, Mitchell is expected on Tuesday to hold talks in Jerusalem with Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The following day he is due in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank for meetings with Palestinian officials, including president Mahmud Abbas. Netanyahu had on Sunday announced he will lay out his policies on the Middle East peace process next week but gave no date, although a senior government official told selfnews it would probably be next Sunday. In a speech from Cairo to the Muslim world last Thursday, Obama reiterated Washington's 'unbreakable' bond with Israel, but vowed not to turn his back on Palestinian aspirations and repeated his call for a halt to Jewish settlements. Over the past few months tensions between the United States and its staunchest ally have risen to levels not seen in 20 years as Washington presses Netanyahu to publicly back the principle of a Palestinian state and freeze all settlement activity on occupied land. Netanyahu has resisted both demands, which are fiercely opposed by many in his largely right-wing government that analysts say would likely collapse if he bowed to Washington. Since coming to office in January, Obama has vowed to aggressively push the stalled peace process, raising fears in Israel that he may lessen Washington's support for the Jewish state as he seeks to improve US ties with the Muslim world. 