Xi Proposes Palestinian Peace Conference After Saudi-Iran Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed an international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as he seeks to bolster his image as a mediator in the Middle East.

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“We must adhere to the right direction of the peace talks,” Xi told visiting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday in Beijing. He also called to “push for the holding of a larger, more authoritative and more influential international peace conference,” according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

The Chinese leader said he was was willing to “play an active role” in facilitating peace talks over the Palestinian issue, and called for the territory to become a “full member” of the United Nations. It’s not clear if either side in the decades-old conflict is seeking a new mediator.

Peace talks around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been stalled since 2014, with no obvious political horizon for ending it. Last year was one of the most deadly in the conflict, according to the UN, as violence flared between the two sides.

China until recently didn’t have a record of negotiating peace deals. That changed when in March it helped broker a tentative detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, after years of diplomatic deadlock between the historic rivals. The deal marked a departure from Beijing’s long-stated reluctance to involve itself in foreign disputes.

Read More: Saudi Arabia and Iran Ease Mideast Rift That Rattled Oil

Xi has also offered a vague blueprint for a political settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which includes a call for a cease-fire — something that Kyiv, the US and its allies have all rejected because it would effectively help Russia consolidate territorial gains.

The Chinese leader and Abbas also agreed to establish a strategic partnership on Wednesday. Xi put forward a three-point solution, which reiterated Beijing’s call for the creation of an independent Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders and increased development and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.

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