China ready to facilitate Israel-Palestine peace talks, says foreign minister

Published April 18, 2023
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has said his country is ready to help Israel and the Palestinians resume peace talks after almost a decade. — AFP
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has said his country is ready to help Israel and the Palestinians resume peace talks after almost a decade. — AFP

China’s foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks, state media Xinhua reported Tuesday.

The separate phone calls between Foreign Minister Qin Gang and the Israeli and Palestinian top diplomats come amid recent moves by Beijing to position itself as a regional mediator.

Qin encouraged “steps to resume peace talks,” and said that “China is ready to provide convenience for this,” in a Monday phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Xinhua reported in a summarisation.

And Qin told Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki that Beijing supports the resumption of talks as soon as possible, according to a Xinhua summary.

In both calls Qin emphasized China’s push for peace talks on the basis of implementing a “two-state solution,” Xinhua said.

China has been on a recent diplomatic offensive, brokering the restoration of ties in March between Iran and Saudi Arabia — rivals in a region where the United States for decades has been the main diplomatic powerbroker.

Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have been stalled since 2014.

Opinion

Editorial

Peak of success
06 Oct, 2024

Peak of success

IT started with the ascent of Nanga Parbat in 2017 and ended with the summit of Tibet’s Shishapangma on Thursday....
Indian visitor
06 Oct, 2024

Indian visitor

AMONGST the host of foreign dignitaries expected to fly into Islamabad for the SCO Council of Heads of Government...
Violence once again
Updated 06 Oct, 2024

Violence once again

The warring sides must rein in their worst impulses and prioritise the nation’s well-being over short-term gains.
Controversial timing
Updated 05 Oct, 2024

Controversial timing

While the judgment undoes a past wrong, it risks being perceived as enabling a myopic political agenda.
ML-1’s prospects
05 Oct, 2024

ML-1’s prospects

ONE of the signature projects envisaged under the CPEC umbrella is the Mainline-1 railway scheme, which is yet to ...
No breathing space
05 Oct, 2024

No breathing space

THIS is the time of the year when city dwellers across Punjab start choking on toxic air. Soon the harmful air will...