Global General

UN chief underlines broad support for Mideast peace process

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-10 09:15

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon announced here on Thursday that the Middle East Quartet is scheduled to meet this month in New York, underlining "the need for a broad international support for this process, including the role of the UN and the Quartet," which seeks a two-state solution to bring lasting peace to the Middle East.

The announcement came as the secretary-general was speaking to a press conference here after the US Middle East special envoy, George Mitchel, briefed him on the US-facilitated first round of direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians, held early this month in Washington.

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"Senator Mitchell provided an overview on the first round of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations," Ban said. "I underline the need for a broad international support for this process, including the role of the UN and the Quartet."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met in Washington last Thursday in the first round of the direct talks. They are expected to meet again in Egypt on September 14.

"The Quartet will meet later this month in New York, and they will be also meeting with Arab Partners," Ban said. "I look forward to meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas during the General Assembly. I also underscore the need for an end to violence and to extend and expand the scope of Israeli government's settlement restraint."

The Quartet, which groups the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States, is seeking through diplomatic efforts the two-state solution, which means a secure Israel living in peace with an independent Palestinian State.

"Negotiations are the only way for Israel and Palestine to resolve all final status issues and realize their aspiration," Ban said.

The United Nations backs the US move to relaunch the direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians, the first over the past 20 months with an aim to end a six-decade conflict between the two sides in one year.

Both Netanyahu and Abbas agreed to make efforts to meet the one- year deadline set by the Obama administration to solve all final status issues, such as borders of a new Palestinian State, security, refugees and the future of Jerusalem.

The direct talks were also the first face-to-face meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu since the latter took office in April 2009, three months after the end of Israel's military operations in Gaza, which caused the direct talks to stop at the time.

Since he took office in early 2009, US President Barack Obama has made Middle East peace process one of his top diplomatic priorities, as the administration believes solving the Israeli- Palestinian conflict concerns the national interests of the United States.

On the situation in Gaza, Ban said that "the international community needs to continue pushing for further measures to ease closures and address the needs of the population."

The new round of direct talks were held against the backdrop that Abbas has said that a peace agreement with Israel can be reached within one year while Netanyahu stated that a peace pact would be difficulty but "possible."

There are many obstacles to success, most immediately among them the looming September 26 expiration of a 10-month Israeli moratorium on construction in West Bank Settlements. Palestinians see such construction as a key obstacle to statehood.