On August 17, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak began his visit to the U.S., during which the heads of state of the two countries focused on the Middle East peace process. Since Barrack Obama took office, the U.S. has repeatedly urged Israel and Palestine to undertake their respective obligations, establish mutual trust and resume peace talks. Russia is preparing for an international conference on the Middle East issue in Moscow, while the EU's policy stance on the Middle East issue has become increasingly consistent with that of the U.S. With the participation of various sides, the Middle East peace process is currently at a new crossroad while the rivalry between major powers' in the Middle East is also intensifying.
Egyptian President visits the U.S.
Strengthen strategic meeting points
Editor: Against the backdrop of the current Middle East peace process, and in particular the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, what is the significance of Mubarak's visit to the U.S.?
Li Xiao (a reporter for the People's Daily in Egypt): On August 17, Egyptian Presidential spokesperson Suleiman Awwad said that if the Israeli side can take the initiative to show sincerity in peace talks and completely halt the Jewish settlement construction, including the natural expansion of Jewish settlements, some Arab States would consider taking positive steps to express goodwill. However, it is crucial for the U.S. to play the role of conciliator in the process. The meeting between the heads of state of Egypt and U.S. in the White House will have a significant influence on whether the Middle East peace process can be resumed in the near future.
According to sources, when meeting with Obama, Mubarak will request the U.S. to continue to use the “two-state solution” as the only approach to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue, and to press Israel to completely halt the Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank so as to achieve a breakthrough for the stagnant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The U.S. adjusts its Middle East policy
It is critical to restore confidence
Editor: What trends has the recent U.S. Middle East policy shown?
Wen Xian (a reporter for the People's Daily in the U.S.): The Obama administration has repeatedly stressed that only the “two-state solution” can ultimately resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. To meet the objective, the U.S. has urged the two sides to take substantial steps to resume peace talks as soon as possible under the "road map" peace plan. The U.S. has emphasized that it is not only the responsibility of Israel and Palestine to implement the "road map" peace plan; it is also in their own interest. The U.S. has repeatedly promised Israel that it will safeguard Israel's security, and stated that the issue involving the Palestinian statehood has to be resolved. The Obama administration holds a firmer stance on urging Israel to stop expanding Jewish settlements than the previous administration.
The U.S. believes that establishing mutual trust is very important for restarting peace talks. Restoring confidence is the key to making Israel and Palestine return to peace talks.
The U.S. has made it clear that its new Middle East policy targets overall peace in the region, which includes achieving peace between Israel and Palestine, between Israel and Syria and between Israel and Lebanon, and eventually realizing the normalization of relations between Israel and all Arab States.
Russia mediates the Middle East issue
Numerous obstacles need to be overcome
Editor: How is Russia's progress on the international conference on the Middle East issue to be held in Moscow?
Zhang Guangzheng (a reporter for the People's Daily in Russia): In the process of preparing for the international conference on the Middle East issue to be held in Moscow, Russia has encountered strong obstacles. Although Russia and the U.S. have a shared desire to resolve the Middle East issue, the Middle East region is also an important region for which the U.S. and Russia are competing. In 2007, the U.S. achieved no substantial results from an international conference on peace in the Middle East held in Annapolis, however the U.S. is unwilling to hand over the initiative of solving the Middle East issue to Russia. Russia's plan to hold an international conference on the Middle East issue in Moscow during Obama's visit to the country in July has failed. It is obvious that the plan had no support from the U.S.
Russia hoped that each faction in Palestine could jointly form a delegation to attend the international conference on the Middle East issue in Moscow, but the chances of this happening are becoming increasingly slim. Yevgeny Primakov, an academic at the Russian Sciences Academy, wrote an article in early July pointing out that the confrontation between Fatah and Hamas, two major factions in Palestine, has caused internal conciliation related to the Middle East issue to be more difficult. In light of the situation, the international conference on the Middle East issue to be held in Moscow in the near future will surely encounter considerable obstacles.
The EU allies with the U.S.
It is hard for the EU to compile an independent plan
Editor: On the whole, what stance does the EU hold on the Middle East issue?
Liu Huaxin (a reporter for the People's Daily in Germany): In contrast with the U.S., several major EU member countries have built up fairly good images in the Middle East region because they were against the Iraq war. Therefore, the years of diplomatic efforts made by some EU member countries, represented by Germany and France, have been welcomed by countries in the Middle East.
Since Obama took office, he has adopted relatively mild and friendly policies in the Middle East region, symbolized by the speech he delivered in Cairo. This was also hailed by the EU. Some of the main contents of Obama's new Middle East deal exactly reflected what the EU has advocated and the U.S. also needs the support of the EU. The EU was deeply aware that the predominant power related to peace in the Middle East is still in the hands of the U.S. It is very hard for the EU to put forward another independent plan, which means it can do nothing but back the existing plan proposed by the U.S. After Obama gave the speech in Cairo, EU Foreign Policy and Security Chief Javier Solana immediately paid a visit to relevant countries in the Middle East region, announcing that the EU has the same stance as the U.S. on the Middle East peace process issue. Surprisingly, Solana also got in a touch with Lebanese Hezbollah, which was deemed as “playing the contact card.”
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