China's special Middle East envoy said on Friday that Palestine
and Israel should use the current positive climate to resume peace
talks and work to rebuild mutual trust.
Sun Bigan issued his call in Beijing, two days after he returned
from a 10-day trip to the region, where he met with several
leaders.
Sun said he believes conditions are ripe for peace talks because
of the newly formed Palestinian unity government and a decision by
participants at the 19th Arab League Summit in Riyadh to reactivate
the Middle East Peace Plan.
Sun said the plan, proposed in 2002 by Saudi Arabia's King
Abdullah, showed the Arab world's determination to negotiate with
Israel. "It is a strategic choice for the Arab world," he said,
adding that it was another good reason to resume talks now.
Sun started the tour in Saudi Arabia and held talks with King
Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. He spoke
highly of the country's efforts in playing a pragmatic role in the
peace process.
He continued his visit in Israel and Palestine where he met with
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Vice-Prime Minister
Shimon Peres among others.
He said he urged Palestine to take more steps to work out
prisoner swaps with Israel that would include the release of
kidnapped soldiers, a major sticking point for Israel.
"We also called on Israel and other parties concerned to take
further steps to ease the humanitarian crisis that is quite
severely confronting the Palestinian people," he added.
Sun emphasized that China is playing an active role in the
Middle East issue. He said China has no self-interest in the region
and that peace in the region would benefit everyone, including
China.
(China Daily April 21, 2007)
