This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/world/middleeast/kerry-in-rome-on-foreign-policy-mission.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Kerry Piles on Miles, Pressing for a Middle East Compromise | Kerry Piles on Miles, Pressing for a Middle East Compromise |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| LONDON — With Israel in the middle of an election campaign and the Europeans pressing for a United Nations Security Council resolution on a Middle East negotiating deadline that Israel opposes, Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Rome on Sunday to try to square the circle. | |
| Mr. Kerry will spend the next few days meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the new European foreign policy chief and the foreign ministers of Russia, France, Britain and Germany in an effort to find a compromise that Washington can accept. | Mr. Kerry will spend the next few days meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the new European foreign policy chief and the foreign ministers of Russia, France, Britain and Germany in an effort to find a compromise that Washington can accept. |
| Mr. Kerry, now in Rome, met Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia on Sunday. In addition to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the two men are expected to discuss tensions over Syria and especially Ukraine. Washington has harshly condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow continues to deny. | |
| American officials say they are seeking to “de-escalate tensions” in Ukraine, but without confronting Russia militarily or providing Ukraine lethal military aid. | |
| Mr. Kerry is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in Rome on Monday, and then fly to Paris to meet European colleagues, before traveling to London to meet Palestinian and Arab League officials on Tuesday. | Mr. Kerry is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in Rome on Monday, and then fly to Paris to meet European colleagues, before traveling to London to meet Palestinian and Arab League officials on Tuesday. |
| A senior State Department official told journalists on Sunday that Mr. Kerry was in Rome “to hear from and engage with other stakeholders” on the Middle East, “to hear their views and to the best of our ability work toward a common path forward.” | A senior State Department official told journalists on Sunday that Mr. Kerry was in Rome “to hear from and engage with other stakeholders” on the Middle East, “to hear their views and to the best of our ability work toward a common path forward.” |
| The Security Council is working on two resolutions, with votes possible before Christmas, which Mr. Netanyahu has strongly opposed. One draft resolution, put forward by the Palestinians through the Jordanians, would set November 2016 as a deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied West Bank. | The Security Council is working on two resolutions, with votes possible before Christmas, which Mr. Netanyahu has strongly opposed. One draft resolution, put forward by the Palestinians through the Jordanians, would set November 2016 as a deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied West Bank. |
| According to one Palestinian official in Ramallah, the Palestinians decided on Sunday, even before meeting with Mr. Kerry, to put their resolution before the Security Council on Wednesday. If so, it would be unlikely to endear them to Washington, and seems intended to put pressure on the Obama administration and Mr. Kerry. | |
| “The Palestinian leadership took a decision to go to the Security Council next Wednesday to vote on their project to end the occupation,” a Palestine Liberation Organization official, Wasel Abu Yussef, said. | “The Palestinian leadership took a decision to go to the Security Council next Wednesday to vote on their project to end the occupation,” a Palestine Liberation Organization official, Wasel Abu Yussef, said. |
| The other draft resolution, being formulated by France, would call for a return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a final peace treaty to achieve a two-state solution within two years. That draft lays out some of the parameters of a permanent deal, suggests the recognition of the Palestinians as full members of the United Nations in the meantime and describes Israeli settlements beyond the 1967 armistice lines as obstacles to peace. | The other draft resolution, being formulated by France, would call for a return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a final peace treaty to achieve a two-state solution within two years. That draft lays out some of the parameters of a permanent deal, suggests the recognition of the Palestinians as full members of the United Nations in the meantime and describes Israeli settlements beyond the 1967 armistice lines as obstacles to peace. |
| American diplomatic officials have said that there is no clear consensus in Europe or the Security Council around either draft, and Washington would prefer to find compromise language for a single resolution that it can support. | American diplomatic officials have said that there is no clear consensus in Europe or the Security Council around either draft, and Washington would prefer to find compromise language for a single resolution that it can support. |
| There is pressure from Europeans to restart negotiations, given what many perceive to be a deteriorating situation on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian territories, with rising tensions and plans for Israeli elections in March. | There is pressure from Europeans to restart negotiations, given what many perceive to be a deteriorating situation on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian territories, with rising tensions and plans for Israeli elections in March. |
| Mr. Netanyahu has not been the easiest ally for the Obama administration, but the United States agrees with Israel that unilateral steps outside peace talks are harmful — whether they are taken by the Israelis, the Palestinians or by other governments. Such steps, the Americans have said, include the unilateral recognition by Sweden of a Palestinian state and the essentially symbolic votes of various European legislatures urging their governments to do likewise. | Mr. Netanyahu has not been the easiest ally for the Obama administration, but the United States agrees with Israel that unilateral steps outside peace talks are harmful — whether they are taken by the Israelis, the Palestinians or by other governments. Such steps, the Americans have said, include the unilateral recognition by Sweden of a Palestinian state and the essentially symbolic votes of various European legislatures urging their governments to do likewise. |
| For Washington to veto a Security Council resolution on Palestinian statehood would be awkward, and so would a failure to veto a resolution fiercely opposed by Israel. | For Washington to veto a Security Council resolution on Palestinian statehood would be awkward, and so would a failure to veto a resolution fiercely opposed by Israel. |
| A State Department official traveling with Mr. Kerry said that it was “premature” for Washington to lay out a position since there were no final texts to consider, but that Washington regarded deadlines as the wrong way to approach “a very complicated security negotiation.” The official spoke only on the condition of anonymity in accordance with diplomatic practice. | A State Department official traveling with Mr. Kerry said that it was “premature” for Washington to lay out a position since there were no final texts to consider, but that Washington regarded deadlines as the wrong way to approach “a very complicated security negotiation.” The official spoke only on the condition of anonymity in accordance with diplomatic practice. |
| Washington appears to be contemplating either a postponement of any resolution until after the Israeli elections or a softer resolution calling for renewed negotiations without a fixed deadline, but some Security Council members are likely to consider that insufficient. | Washington appears to be contemplating either a postponement of any resolution until after the Israeli elections or a softer resolution calling for renewed negotiations without a fixed deadline, but some Security Council members are likely to consider that insufficient. |
| Mr. Netanyahu made his position clear on Sunday during the regular Israeli cabinet meeting. “This is an attempt to compel us — by means of U.N. decisions — to withdraw to the 1967 lines within two years,” he said. | Mr. Netanyahu made his position clear on Sunday during the regular Israeli cabinet meeting. “This is an attempt to compel us — by means of U.N. decisions — to withdraw to the 1967 lines within two years,” he said. |
| That would bring “Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem,” he added. “We will not allow this.” | That would bring “Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem,” he added. “We will not allow this.” |