Relentless Efforts Exerted to Hold Mideast Quartet Meeting

Arab World

February 18th, 9:39am

Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat

Palestine's Permanent Representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour

Palestine's Permanent Representative to the UN Riyad Mansour said that relentless UN efforts are being exerted to hold the Middle East Quartet meeting on the ministerial level to push the peace process forward. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sep. called for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene an international conference early next year to launch “a genuine peace process” between Israel and the Palestinians. "As Palestinians, we exerted tremendous efforts along with Arabs to hold this meeting, Mansour said. "There is hope that the meeting will be held soon." He added that the Palestinians are ready for Middle East Quartet extensive meetings even with the participation of the Israelis. This could pave the way towards practical steps regarding the initiative launched by Abbas. The Middle East Quartet includes the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the UN. However, there are plans to expand it to include Jordan and Egypt, in addition to other countries. Reliable sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Abbas agreed with King of Jordan Abdallah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on having a unified stance. The stance should support the Palestinian demand to hold an international peace conference and launch negotiations based on international resolutions and agreements and the Arab peace initiative. Cairo and Amman vowed to spearhead this effort that should also include the international quartet and push forward negotiations. The PA also pins high hope on the administration of US President Joe Biden in supporting the peace process in the region.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2813136/relentless-efforts-exerted-hold-mideast-quartet-meeting