US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for a “concrete pathway to a Palestinian state,” according to his prepared remarks.

“We’re focused intensely on trying to get an agreement that results in freeing (Hamas-held) hostages and that produces an extended humanitarian ceasefire,” he told a news conference after a meeting of top diplomats.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged Brazil’s top diplomat Mauro Vieira to use his closing statement “to explain to the world that at the G20, everybody was in favour” of a two-state solution, with an independent Palestine co-existing with Israel.

“It was a strong request for a two-state solution,” Borrell told journalists after the meeting, which was attended by Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well.

“The common denominator is that there’s not going to be peace, there’s not going to be sustainable security for Israel, unless the Palestinians have a clear political prospect to build (their) own state.” He said he hoped to see a proposal from the Arab world to that effect in the coming days.

Editorial

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