China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang informed his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his state is prepared to assist in facilitating peace talks, according to state media Xinhua
The separate phone discussions between Israeli and Palestinian top diplomats and Foreign Minister Qin Gang occur in the wake of recent initiatives by Beijing to establish it as a regional mediator.
In a phone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Monday, Qin urged steps to resume peace talks and declared that “China is ready to provide convenience for this,” according to a summary by Xinhua.
According to a Xinhua report, Qin also informed Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki that Beijing supports the immediate resumption of negotiations.
In both calls, Qin underlined China’s desire for peace negotiations based on enacting a “two-state solution,” according to Xinhua.
In a region where the United States has long served as the primary diplomatic power broker, China has recently been on the diplomatic offensive, brokering the reestablishment of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March.
Peace talks between Israel and Palestine have remained inactive since 2014.
