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EU pressured US to cancel Warsaw conference

February 14, 2019 at 9:49 am

Polish President Andrzej Duda (R) and US Vice President Mike Pence (L) hold a press conference at the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw, Poland on 13 February 2019. [Omar Marques – Anadolu Agency]

European countries tried to pressure the United States to cancel its Middle East conference taking place in Polish capital Warsaw this week.

According to Israel’s KAN TV channel – which quoted unnamed Israeli officials – many European countries had, in recent weeks, proposed to the US State Department to hold an alternative to the Warsaw conference. Europe reportedly pushed for a summit that would include France, Germany and the UK, as well as the United States, instead of the Warsaw conference which is being attended by a range of Middle Eastern and world states. However, the European proposal was rejected by the US.

The Europeans proposed that the EU-US summit would deal with the same issues as the Warsaw Conference, however in a “more constructive” manner.

The Warsaw Conference kicked off yesterday with the participation of dozens of countries including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, many European countries will offer only limited participation at the conference, sending only their junior ministers in place of high-profile figures.

The Israeli channel also quoted a senior official in Poland who was involved in conference preparations as saying the conference will address the Iranian ballistic missiles issue as well as other issues related to Iran.

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