Will Trump’s UN envoy bring any new foreign policy ideas?
US President Donald Trump said he would settle for a widely- discouraged one- state solution for the Israeli- Palestinian conflict but also could support the long- favored two- state solution, whichever both sides like.
However, his new UN envoy Nikki Haley said the US unequivocally supports a two- state solution.
Is this signaling a rift between the envoy and the White House or the beginning of a major change in US foreign policy?
On Thursday, Trump said in an interview with the Reuters news agency, “I like the twostate solution.”
“People have been talking about it for so many years now,” he said, but added, “It so far hasn’t worked.”
Then, he said, “I am satisfied with whatever both parties agree with.”
The two- state solution calls for two states of Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace.
“I’m looking at two- state and one- state, and I like the one that both parties like,” Trump told reporters during a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 15.
“I thought for a while the two- state looked like it may be the easier of the two,” the president said, adding that he would accept “the one they like the best.”
However, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres has said there is “no alternative” to the two- state solution, which is widely backed by the international community.
US Ambassador to the UN Haley on February 16 told reporters at UN Headquarters that “We absolutely support a two- state solution.” But she added, “We are thinking out of the box as well, which is, what does it take to bring these two sides to the table? What do we need to have them agree on?”
Haley was governor of the US state of South Carolina for six years with no foreign relations experience other than leading state economic delegations abroad before taking up her new post.
In an unusual move, Trump named Haley as UN envoy before Texas businessman Rex Tillerson was sworn in as US Secretary of State on February 1. Both are cabinet members.
When Haley arrived last month to present her credentials to Guterres, the new diplomat sounded more like a new sheriff in town.
She said part of her mission would be to take a look at the world organization, see where she can change old ineffective ways, make it leaner and look out for the US.
Observers at the UN, watching to see her signal any major turn- around in Trump’s foreign policy from previous US policy, have been disappointed so far, a reason for parsing every word she says as well as what Trump says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was praised by Trump during his campaign, but any hopes the Russian leader may have had for improved relations between Moscow and Washington were dashed early.
Haley told members of the UN Security Council that Washington was not about to seek to lift sanctions on Russia for its action in Ukraine, particularly for taking Crimea back.
The Washington envoy emerged from her first Security Council Middle East briefing telling reporters, “It’s the first meeting like that that I’ve attended, and I have to say it was a bit strange. The Security Council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security.”
“At our meeting on the Middle East, the discussion was not about Hezbollah’s illegal buildup of rockets in Lebanon,” Haley said. “It was not about the money and weapons Iran provides to terrorists. It was not about how we defeat ISIS ( Islamic State). It was not about how we hold ( Syrian President) Bashar al- Assad accountable for the slaughter of hundreds and thousands of civilians.”
“No. Instead, the meeting focused on criticizing Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East,” she said. “I am new around here, but I understand that’s how the Council has operated, month after month, for decades.”
Actually, the monthly briefings have occurred for only the last several years and have traditionally been focused on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
“I’m here to say the United States will not turn a blind eye to this anymore,” she said. “I am here to underscore the ironclad support of the United States for Israel. I’m here to emphasize the United States is determined to stand up to the UN’s anti- Israel bias.”
The world organization has a lot more Arab and Muslim state members than Israel supporters, allowing for many bashings of the Jewish state.
“But outside of the UN, there is some good news,” Haley said. “Israel’s place in the world is changing. Israel is building up new diplomatic relationships. More and more countries recognize how much Israel contributes to the world. They are recognizing that Israel is a beacon of stability in a troubled region, and that Israel is at the forefront of innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological discovery.”
“The United States does not currently recognize a Palestinian state or support the signal this appointment would send within the United Nations,” she said.
“Going forward the United States will act, not just talk, in support of our allies,” concluded the new Washington envoy.