Brics special envoys on middle east meet

Top U.S. diplomats heading to the Middle East to discuss their plan to settle the Israel-Palestinian conflict are wasting their time if they disregard previous Arab initiatives to reach peace, according to the spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Peace proposals that ignore “the resolutions of the Arab summits, resolutions of the UN Security Council, and international legitimacy, primarily the approval of the Palestinian people and the president’s signature, will be doomed to failure,” Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement on Saturday. Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, who lead Middle East policy for the White House, are slated to consult with regional leaders next week about the peace plan the two have been working on since President Donald Trump took office. Tensions between American and Palestinian officials have been rising, exacerbated by Trump’s controversial decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem last … [Read more...] about Palestinians: Trump Envoys’ Middle East Trip ‘Waste of Time’

POLITICS 10/22/2018 08:49 pm ET Updated 4 hours ago The United Arab Emirates, the Saudis’ closest partner, and its Washington agents are offering authoritarians a road map to preserving impunity and ties to the West. By Akbar Shahid Ahmed WASHINGTON ― Some of the most prominent U.S. foreign policy figures urging a tough response to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi are earning thousands of dollars each month from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s closest partner and a vocal defender of the Saudi narrative about how he died. It’s a stunning situation that underscores how Middle East powers aligned with the Saudis and the U.S. are doing damage control amid the scandal — sustaining their relationship with the biggest player in the Arab world while trying to keep Western partners happy so their own human rights records and behavior don’t come under similar worldwide scrutiny. Publicly, countries like the … [Read more...] about How Saudi-Friendly Middle East Dictators Are Handling The Jamal Khashoggi Scandal

China’s communist leader Xi Jinping begins a whirlwind tour of Africa and the Middle East Thursday, hoping to expand the nation’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project throughout the continent and solidify trade deals with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE, one of China’s closest trade partners in the region, will be Xi’s first stop on a tour that will also take him to Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa and Mauritius, according to the state publication Global Times. The newspaper argues that the visit is specifically for Xi to sell OBOR projects to these countries, except for the visit to South Africa, where Xi will attend a meeting of the leaders of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).OBOR is a global infrastructure initiative in which China seeks to build and control the world’s largest and newest ports, roads, and railways. In the process, China preys on developing countries by offering unpayable loans at high interest … [Read more...] about Xi Jinping Heads to Middle East to Sell One Belt, One Road

State papers: Ex-US President Carter mooted as potential special envoy to NI BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Former US President Jimmy Carter was suggested for a Northern Ireland peace process role in the early 1990s. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/state-papers-exus-president-carter-mooted-as-potential-special-envoy-to-ni-37661488.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/article37661487.ece/f6f31/AUTOCROP/h342/2018-12-28_new_46811205_I1.JPG Email Former US President Jimmy Carter was suggested for a Northern Ireland peace process role in the early 1990s. Speculation was mounting in January 1993 that President-elect Bill Clinton would appoint a special envoy. British Foreign Office official Jonathan Powell mentioned Mr Carter in a note disclosed in an archived British government file released by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Mr Powell described how former congressman Bruce Morrison, then head of the Irish Americans for Clinton … [Read more...] about State papers: Ex-US President Carter mooted as potential special envoy to NI

World International Affairs Palestinian and Jordanian leaders have rejected a reported Middle East Peace plan proposed by the Trump administration, which would create a confederation between Jordan and the Palestinian territories. Jordan’s Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat—who also serves as a government spokeswoman—rejected the plan on Sunday and added that it’s not up for discussion, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. She also reiterated her country’s position that Palestinians should be able to establish an official state on their land. Ziad Abu Zayyad, an international spokesman for the Fatah party, of which President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is a member, said any discussion of a confederation is premature. “A Palestinian state must be established with security, borders and a capital before talking about any kind of confederation since it is needed to be able to achieve such a thing,” Zayyad … [Read more...] about Palestinian and Jordanian Leaders Reject Donald Trump’s Confederation Plan for Middle East Peace