by AP and Israel Hayom Staff
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini works on fleshing out idea of "international support group" for Israeli-Palestinian peace process • Leaving status quo unchanged "is not an option," EU foreign ministers say in statement after Brussels meeting.
EU foreign policy chief
Federica Mogherini and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
speak at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Monday
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Photo credit: AP  |
The European Union's top diplomat is looking
for a fresh formula to revive the moribund peace talks between Israel
and the Palestinians.
Federica Mogherini, who chaired the
negotiations that led to a deal on Iran's nuclear program last week,
said Monday she was working on fleshing out an idea for "an
international support group" that would build on the existing "Quartet"
of the EU, United States, Russia and United Nations.
Right now "there seems to be no peace process at all" between Israel and the Palestinians, Mogherini said.
She said a new regional and international framework is necessary to foster a more positive environment.
Mogherini spoke to reporters after a meeting
of EU foreign ministers, who said in a statement that leaving the status
quo unchanged "is not an option."
To improve the chances for concluding a "just
and lasting peace," the ministers asked Mogherini to explore the
possibilities for establishing the support group, and to report back to
them in early September.
"It's an idea that needs to be explored,"
Mogherini told reporters. It would be the first time in years that the
format for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would be broadened to include
new actors, she said.
In their statement, EU ministers also called
for the establishment of an independent and democratic Palestinian state
that would live side by side and in peace with Israel. They said there
"is no alternative to a negotiated two-state solution."
"The regional context, including the ongoing
radicalization and spread of terrorism, makes it even more urgent to end
the conflict," the EU ministers said.
[Editor: is there no bottom to this pit of ignorance and hubris?!]
AP and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=27009
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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