Mideast quartet discusses reviving ‘Israel’, Palestine peace talks
The Middle East quartet of mediators, the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, discussed on Tuesday reviving “meaningful negotiations” between ‘Israel’ and Palestine with the aim of a two-state solution.
Both ‘Israel’ and the Palestinians need “to refrain from unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve,” said the quartet in a statement following their meeting.
It appeared to be the first time since September 2018 that envoys from the four mediators have met.
Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped there would be a quartet meeting in coming weeks, now that there was a new president in the White House.
The new administration of President Joe Biden has said it supports a two-state solution between ‘Israel’ and the Palestinians and will overturn several decisions made by the former administration of Trump.
It also said that it’s looking to ‘reset’ relations with the Palestinians with a plan that includes $15 million in COVID-19 assistance, as an internal memo obtained exclusively by The National and was raised to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on March 1, by acting assistant secretary of state for near eastern Affairs Joey Hood.
It has said it will continue to urge other countries to normalize ties with the occupation state, but stressed that is not a substitute for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
