Pompeo Says Candid Dialogue Needed To Achieve Lasting Israeli-Palestinian Peace

The United States believes that achieving a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine requires a candid dialog and an open exchange of ideas in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2019) The United States believes that achieving a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine requires a candid dialog and an open exchange of ideas in the middle East, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

"It's fundamentally our view that this region needs a candid dialogue and open exchanges of ideas, especially as we seek to make progress toward a comprehensive and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians," Pompeo said in Jerusalem.

Pompeo explained that the United States is currently trying to establish the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) to enhance cooperation on economic, energy and security matters.

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner and President Donald Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt recently met with Middle Eastern leaders to find economic opportunities for those regions, Pompeo noted.

Trump has stated on numerous occasions that his administration has been preparing a so-called deal of the century for Israeli-Palestinian settlement. However, the details of the plan remained unclear.

In December, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov said that no one has seen the deal yet.

However, Israeli broadcaster Reshet 13 reported in January that Trump's plan envisaged the creation of a Palestinian state covering 90 percent of the West Bank and the division of Jerusalem.