Brussels, 11/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - In a press release published during the evening of 10 February, the Middle East Quartet envoys called on the Israelis and Palestinians to take concrete measures that would resume the transition provided for by the Oslo Accords.
There have been calls for these measures for several months now. In their conclusions on 18 January, the foreign affairs ministers had affirmed their support for the Quartet's calls for “significant transformation measures” to be taken in order to build trust. They had urged both parties to implement these measures “as soon as possible”. Such measures could, for example, enable the Palestinian economic outlook, security and institutions to be strengthened, while respecting Israel's security concerns.
In their press release, the envoys of the EU, Russia, the USA and UN, who met in Oslo on 8-9 February, also condemned “in the strongest possible terms all acts of terror and violence” against civilians. In addition, they underlined their concern on the subject of the current trends on the ground “that pose a threat to the two-state solution”, in their opinion.
The Quartet representatives, including High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, are meeting in Munich on Friday 12 February to “review the latest developments on the ground and discuss what can be done to promote a just and lasting peace”, the European Commission stated on Thursday 11 February. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)