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Merkel: Two-state Solution is Key to Peace in the Middle East
On a trip to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait from February 3 to 6, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with leaders to sound out the opportunities for a lasting peace in the Middle East. Her conclusion at the end of the four-day trip: all actors in the region should use this window of opportunity for the peace process. She called on the Syrian government to give Lebanon diplomatic recognition and to participate constructively in bringing peace to the Middle East. What is needed is a two-state solution in which Israel sees its right to exist secured and needn’t fear violence, Merkel said in a speech in Abu Dhabi on Monday. At the same time, the Palestinian people must receive the opportunity for progress and economic development in their own state. In a major foreign policy speech at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies on Monday, Merkel encouraged the people in the region to believe in this vision, saying she herself experienced the realization of such a dream with the Fall of the Berlin Wall only because of the constant belief and commitment of people in Europe.
As EU Council President she declared that out of the experience of millions of Europeans rises the obligation to contribute to efforts to overcome similar conflicts in other parts of the world. The regions are close and so are their interests, Merkel said. First and foremost, Israel and the Palestinians themselves must contribute to the solution, Merkel said. While the peace process cannot be forced from outside, actors in the region can contribute to its progress. On her trip, Merkel recognized the efforts by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Egyptian President Mubarak has worked for years on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and also got involved as an intermediary in the current inner-Palestinian conflict. Likewise Saudi King Abdullah II encouraged the meeting of feuding Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas in Mecca on Tuesday.
Merkel also spoke of good prospects for a broad alliance for peace; the efforts of the Middle East Quartet—EU, US, Russia and the United Nations—are broadly supported in the region, she said. If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be resolved, then other difficult questions may be easier to solve, Merkel said, from power struggles in Iraq to the nuclear conflict with Iran. Merkel reported that she encountered broad agreement for the Iran policy of the international community. Those she met with unanimously welcomed the offer that the UN together with the EU, Russia and China made to Iran. Merkel spoke critically about the role of Syria in the region. While Germany and the EU have repeatedly approached the government, Syria still has not taken up the opportunity for cooperation. Yet Syria could also be an important and helpful actor, Merkel said. The long refused diplomatic recognition of Lebanon by Syria would, for example, be a constructive step forward, Merkel said. German businesses in the booming region
Throughout her trip, Merkel called for a stronger economic cooperation between Europe and the Arab world. In addition to political stability, a free-trade agreement between the EU and the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council would contribute to that. After years of negotiations, the EU, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates now want to accelerate work on this agreement. February 8, 2007 BPA photos Link
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