Foreign Minister, Ine Eriksen Søreide, believes the world community must look at President Donald Trump’s new peace plan for the Middle East carefully.
‘’They keep their cards very close to their chest in terms of what the plan contains. But we have been concerned that we will nevertheless consider very thoroughly what will be presented on the table’’ said Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide of Høyre (H) to NTB news.
This has also been Norway’s message to the parties involved she said.
‘’It is important to look carefully at the plan before deciding whether you think it can work or not.’’
After Ramadan
The White House recently announced that President Trump will present his new Middle East peace plan to Muslims’ after the fasting month of Ramadan, which this year ends in early June.
There is now a great deal of expectation as to what the plan will contain.
On Tuesday, Eriksen Søreide visited Brussels, where she and EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini held a meeting in the donor group for Palestine (AHLC), for which Norway is chairing.
The message from Norway and the EU was crystal clear: the two-state solution is the only viable way forward.
‘’I don’t usually comment on things that don’t exist yet. So I don’t want to comment on any future plan that the US or others might come up with’’ Mogherini said.
‘’But Europe have had a consistent message in the matter’’ she added.
‘’Some believe we should reject the two state solution. But the two-state solution is and will be the only realistic way forward.’’
Great uncertainty
The Palestinians are today caught in a deep economic crisis which, according to Eriksen Søreide, has forced savings on the Palestinian side, which are so tight that they cannot be maintained in the long term.
At the same time, negotiations are underway for a new government coalition in Israel after the election in early April.
The uncertainty is great about how the situation will develop further.
‘’Now we are waiting for the new Israeli government to take shape, and we think it will happen towards the end of May. But so far we have no indications that the policy for the region will change dramatically’’ said Eriksen Søreide.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
