Arab-European working group to revive peace efforts in Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein, the ruler of the UAE’s Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qasimi, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud; along with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the start of the ‘Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership’ in Amman, Jordan on December 20, 2022 [Iran Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Anadolu Agency]

The European Union and the Arab League have agreed to create a joint working group to revive peace efforts in the Middle East “based on the Arab Peace Initiative, United Nations resolutions and established international peace parameters,” according to a joint statement published on the European Union External Action’s official website.

During a trilateral meeting held in Brussels yesterday, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan, and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit agreed to establish a working group that will “closely coordinate efforts to encourage the parties to demonstrate … their commitment to a two-state solution.”

Borrell said he discussed with Arab officials ways to revive peace talks in the Middle East. He also denounced the Israeli government’s decision to “legalise” nine settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.

While the secretary-general of the Arab League stressed the need to find ways to revive the Arab Peace Initiative based on the two-state solution and the pre-1967 borders.

The trilateral Arab-European meeting comes after Israel granted retroactive ‘legalised’ nine illegal Jewish-only settler outposts in the occupied West Bank.

The US condemned the move, with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken saying: “We strongly oppose such unilateral measures, which exacerbate tensions and undermine the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution.”

READ: Western countries ‘deeply troubled’ by Israeli settlements plan

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