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 By Philippe RATER United Nations (AFP) Jan 26, 2021
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday backed a Palestinian proposal for a Middle East peace conference, saying at the UN that it could be held at ministerial level in spring or summer with about 10 participants. On their side, the United States -- which had firmly sided with Israel under the administration of Donald Trump -- pledged to work at renewing ties with the Palestinians under Joe Biden. Recalling that Moscow had backed Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas' idea for international talks in early 2021 when he first proposed it in September, Lavrov offered ideas about who could be invited. "We propose holding an international, ministerial-level meeting in spring-summer 2021," Lavrov told a UN Security Council meeting about the Middle East held by videoconference. Participants would include Israel, the Palestinians, the four members of the so-called Middle East diplomatic quartet (Russia, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union), along with four Arab states -- Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, Lavrov said. "It would also be important to invite Saudi Arabia, which is behind the Arab peace initiative," he added, without offering a specific date or site for the eventual conference. "This meeting could provide a platform for carrying out a complete analysis of the situation, and helping countries to launch a dialogue," Lavrov told the Security Council. He noted that Moscow remained ready to host a meeting between Israel and the Palestinians in the Russian capital "at the highest levels." China voiced its support for Russia's idea at the UN meeting, but most other participants did not offer an opinion on the proposal. - 'Credible US engagement' - At last year's annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, Abbas -- who had rejected a peace plan advanced by then US president Donald Trump -- said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needed to be resolved on the basis of international law, and under conditions agreed by the international community. On Tuesday, nearly all who spoke at the Security Council meeting including the United States reaffirmed the need for a two-state solution, under which Israel and a future Palestine would coexist. "The Biden administration will restore credible US engagement with Palestinians as well as Israelis," said Washington's interim UN envoy Richard Mills. The new Democratic president "has been clear in his intent to restore US assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people and to take steps to re-open diplomatic missions that were closed by the last US administration," he added. Under Trump, the US had stopped supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and closed the Palestinians' liaison office in Washington. The Security Council's European members -- Estonia, France and Ireland -- in a joint statement called on Israel to "show leadership" in moving towards a solution with the Palestinians, and called on both sides to engage in trust-building. For the first time in 15 years, the Palestinians are set to hold elections -- legislative polls on May 22, following by a presidential election on July 31.
Pentagon includes Israel in Middle East command area Washington (AFP) Jan 15, 2021 The US Defense Department announced Friday that it would include close ally Israel in the area covered by its Middle East-focused Central Command. In another sign of the rapprochement brokered by President Donald Trump between Israel and Arab countries, the Pentagon said US military dealings with Israel would no longer be handled by its European Command. "We structure boundaries to best mitigate risk and protect US interests and partners," the Pentagon said in a statement. "The easing of ten ... read more
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