UN to stay away from Mideast conference in Bahrain

UNITED NATIONS AFP MAY31, 2019 - The United Nations will not be taking part in a conference in Bahrain to present the economic aspects of a US peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians, a spokesman said Thursday.

“At this stage, I’m not aware that we will have anyone present,” said UN spokesman Farhan Haq when asked about UN attendance at the conference. The spokesman initially said that the UN’S Middle East coordinator, Nickolay Mladenov, had been invited to the June 25-26 conference in Manama, but would not be attending.

He later corrected his statement to say that Mladenov had not been invited. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has been drafting the long-awaited peace plan that has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who expect the proposals to heavily favour Israel.