Brussels, 05/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the foreign affairs committee met foreign ministers Nasser Judeh of Jordan and Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Ali Thani of Qatar on Wednesday 29 February and Thursday 1 March. The MEPs welcomed these two countries' efforts to bring reform while, at the same time, highlighting a number of human rights and civil liberties issues.
The ministers insisted that a peaceful solution “through diplomatic channels” had to be found to the Iranian nuclear issue. They warned of a nuclear weapons race and argued for the Middle East to be a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free area.
They said that the Israel-Palestinian conflict lay “at the heart of all the conflicts in the Middle East”. “It is a ticking time bomb”, said Sheik Hamad, warning that Israel's neighbours were changing and Israel should take account of Arab public opinion. Nasser Judeh said that the Arab League and the International Quartet could and should work together to make the Quartet more effective. (CG/transl.rt)