U.N. Middle East Peace Envoy Urges Security Council to Revive Talks
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Version 0 of 1. UNITED NATIONS — The departing United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process said Thursday that Israel’s policy of building settlements in the Palestinian territories “may kill” any chance of peace, as he nudged the Security Council to step in and revive talks that were halted last year. “I frankly do not know if it is already too late,” the envoy, Robert Serry, a Dutch diplomat, told the Security Council. “The minimum conditions of trust cannot be restored without the new Israeli government taking credible steps to freeze settlement activity.” Mr. Serry also made his strongest case yet for the involvement of the Security Council in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. If both sides were willing to talk about the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said, the Security Council should consider bringing them together with “a framework for negotiations.” Mr. Serry made the remarks in his final statement to the Council, ending his seven-year tenure as the United Nations Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process. “It remains the primary responsibility of this Council to play its role in developing a new peace architecture for resolving the conflict at long last,” Mr. Serry said. “Hasn’t the time come, Mr. President, for the Council to lead?” France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, led an effort late last year to devise a draft Security Council resolution that would lay out a framework for negotiations. The United States was not keen to bring it up for a vote before the Israeli elections, diplomats here said. The French ambassador, François Delattre, said earlier in the week that France could resume its efforts, but declined to say how soon. On Thursday, he told reporters that “a majority of members supported a stronger role for the Security Council to play in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which means to play its role to help define and resume the negotiations.” The United States has long been wary of Security Council interference in Middle East peace negotiations. The White House, angered at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his pre-election repudiation of a two-state solution, signaled that it could reassess its position, only to add later that the administration would make no decisions until after Mr. Netanyahu formed a new government. Mr. Netanyahu has since said that he still supports a two-state solution, but American officials have expressed wariness about his true position. The Palestinian ambassador, Riyad H. Mansour, on Thursday welcomed Mr. Serry’s nudge for Council action. The Israeli ambassador, Ron Prosor, said his government favored direct talks. “Trying to circumvent things and run away from direct negotiations would not lead to peace but to additional violence and frustrations,” he told reporters. Mr. Serry likened the peace process to a can “kicked down an endless road.” It would be doomed, he added, if the Palestinians follow through on their threat to end security cooperation with Israel. |