The ambassadors of the Arab Group have recently initiated extensive contacts with representatives of influential countries with an aim to hold a new meeting of the International Quartet for Palestine, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said.
“A meeting of the Quartet aims to reactivate the international peace conference based on the initiative of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the support of the Arab League to back a two-state solution within the pre-1967 borders,” Mansour told Asharq Al-Awsat Tuesday.
The Arab ambassadors have met with Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya, and expect to meet on Friday with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and representatives of other permanent Security Council members to revive the Middle East peace process.
Mansour explained that the Palestinian cause will also be tackled during a meeting with the new US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas Greenfield, after she presents her credentials to Guterres.
On Tuesday, Palestinian observers praised the recent comments of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi, that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was best for the future of Israel.
Mansour said this was the first time a high-ranking official in the Biden administration spoke about the new “US policy” regarding the future of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
Blinken said Monday the two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace alongside a viable and democratic Palestinian state.
Palestinian Fatah movement leader Azzam Al-Ahmad said the Biden administration has played a leading role in placing the two-state solution back on the negotiation table.
