December 18, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 19, 1429

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17: The UN Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution which endeavours to provide new momentum to US-sponsored Middle East negotiations at a time of transition in the peace process.

The resolution 1850, a US-Russian drafted text, received 14 votes in favour. Libya, the lone Arab member of the council, abstained.

With almost no progress to report in the negotiations, including on the crucial status of Jerusalem, the future borders of a Palestinian state, the Bush administration passed it on to the UN Security Council.

Most Arab states termed the Middle East peace negotiations a failure and attributed the failure to Israel’s “intransigence” in flouting the UN resolutions since its occupation in 1967.

American officials said the point of the resolution was to endorse the goals of talks on Palestinian statehood launched in November 2007 by the administration of President George Bush in Annapolis, Maryland, while avoiding specific disagreements.

The text indirectly addresses Israeli and Palestinian complaints by urging them to avoid “steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of the negotiations”.It recognises progress made in the US-led talks and calls for “an intensification of diplomatic efforts” to secure a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.

Palestinian spokesman Saeb Erekat welcomed the resolution, but added that he hoped “it will not be added to the archives of other resolutions that have not been implemented so far”.