An international conference began on Wednesday to commemorate the 1991 peace talks which brought Israeli and Arab leaders together for the first time and paved way for the Oslo Accords.

The Madrid conference aimed to bring new vigor to the stalled Mideast peace process.

Some leaders involved in past efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sent letters to voice their support for the conference, which is sponsored by private peace foundations.

Messages from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ex-U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III were read out at the opening session.

"The convening of this conference 15 years later could not be more timely," wrote Baker, who helped arranged the 1991 talks.

"It offers an opportunity to assist the possibility of moving forward toward Arab-Israeli conflict resolution."

Clinton underlined the importance of the 1991 talks in his letter, saying "It was the first time that Israeli and Arabs met at the conference table rather than on the battlefield."

He said the new meeting showed there was still hope for the future.

The two-day conference brought together foreign ministers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and experts from the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the Middle East.

The Madrid conference in October 1991 set the framework for a peace process which ultimately led to the Oslo Accords, which in 1993 outlined a plan for a Palestinian state.

Source: Xinhua