FM briefs Mogherini on outcome of pan-Arab meeting

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Monday underlined the role of the EU in breaking the stalemate in the efforts seeking to put an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution. 

Safadi's remarks came during a phone call with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. He briefed the EU top diplomat on the outcomes of the Saturday meeting of the Arab League ministerial working group in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, said.

The Arab ministerial team comprises the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as the Arab League chief.

Their mandate is to follow up on the negative consequences of the US decision on Jerusalem and explain its dangers in view of the historical and religious status of Jerusalem for Arabs and Muslims.

The ministerial delegation was named upon Arab League decision 8821, which was issued in an Arab League Council meeting called for by Jordan and Palestine in December.

Safadi told Mogherini that the Arab states have agreed to push for an international recognition of Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, Petra said.

The minister and the EU foreign policy chief agreed on the need for serious and effective efforts to resolve the long-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution and the relevant international resolutions, according to Petra.

Safadi held talks with Mogherini in Brussels in December that focused on the consequences of the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 

In a related development, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told his Palestinian counterpart Riyad Al Malki on Monday  that occupied Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of Israeli and Palestinian states, a statement from Britain’s foreign office said, cited by Reuters

“I reiterated the UK’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and the two-state solution, the urgent need for renewed peace negotiations, and the UK’s clear and longstanding position on the status of Jerusalem,” Johnson said.

“It should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states.”

Meanwhile, in his annual “state of the world” address, Pope Francis repeated his call for a two-state-solution between Israelis and Palestinians and respect for the “status quo” of Jerusalem following US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital.

Addressing ambassadors from more than 180 countries Francis said, “We reiterate our call to abide by UN resolutions and to respect the joint commitments over the status of Jerusalem, which is sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims.”

Washington’s new ambassador to the Vatican, Callista Gingrich, attended along with her husband, former speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich.