US position on ME peace ‘confusing’

BONN: Washington’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains “worrying”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said after talks with his US counterpart Rex Tillerson in Germany on Thursday.

“I have got a bit more clarity (on the US position) even if on the Israeli-Palestinian issue it remains very confusing and concerning and I made a point of telling him that,” Ayrault said, a day after President Donald Trump stepped back from the US commitment to a two-state solution as part of a final peace deal.

Ayrault said he had reaffirmed France’s commitment to the twostate solution.

He also said it was a clear difference in opinion between the two allies on the Iranian nuclear deal, with the United States wanting to review it from scratch.

Iran too on Thursday rejected US President Donald Trump’s statement that its nuclear ambitions were a major security challenge and said its arch foe Israel was the biggest threat to global peace.

Meanwhile in Geneva, the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council on Thursday that the two-state solution remains “the only way” to meet the aspirations of the Palestinians and Israelis.

The council met to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a day after President Donald Trump stepped back from the US commitment to a two-state solution as part of a final peace deal.

“The two-state solution remains the only way to achieve the legitimate national aspirations of both peoples,” Nickolay Mladenov told the council.