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France proposes new ‘Quartet’ to include Arab states

June 30, 2015 at 10:32 am

France wants to set up a new Middle East “Quartet” that includes Arab states to revive the Middle East peace process, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday. “It could be a sort of Quartet-plus,” he told reporters in New York, referring to the existing members of the group: the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. Fabius pointed out that “it makes sense” to include Arab countries who will play an integral role in any solution.

The Quartet was formed in 2002 to play the role of mediator in the peace process between the Palestinians and Israel. It has achieved little success so far. The foreign minister warned that the current impasse in the Middle East could lead to an “explosion at any time” which extremist movements like ISIS could benefit from.

France seeks to present a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that would set a timetable for reaching a final Israeli-Palestinian deal, but Fabius explained that the resolution is a tool, not an end in itself. “The first thing is this question of getting back to negotiation and having this international accompanying body and if a resolution – if and when a resolution is necessary – we will think about it,” he said.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Fabius, who visited the Middle East last week, of wanting to impose “international dictates” on Israel. “Dictates is not a French word,” responded the French official. He stressed that his country does not want to give up on the initiative. “We do not waste any time, when we are working for peace,” he added.