Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 July 2016
424. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the detail of his attendance at a meeting hosted by the French Government on 30 June 2016 where 29 representatives from different countries and organisations were trying to relaunch the Israeli-Palestine peace talks through international support and engagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21123/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe conference held in Paris on 3 June was the first part of an initiative by the French Government based on their concern at the worsening prospects for the achievement of a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and their strong feeling that the international community had to act to try and retrieve the situation. These are views which Ireland has also consistently stressed, under a succession of Ministers, and so I strongly welcomed this initiative by France.
EU attendance in Paris was necessarily restricted, to avoid unbalancing the meeting, and Ireland was one of ten EU member States present. Other attendees included the United States, Russia, China, Japan, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations and the Arab League, and others.
In my intervention at the conference, I commended France on their initiative, which they have taken forward despite all the manifest difficulties. I strongly supported the necessity and importance of international engagement, not just to jump-start a process but throughout it. My view on this is informed by the experience on this island, as well as my assessment of the situation on the ground.
I recalled that the action of destructive policies on the ground meant that the status quo was not an option. And I supported the intention in the French plan to hold a larger conference in the autumn, to which the parties would be invited, to try and restore the conditions for negotiations.
I would have preferred the conference to be able to reflect these points more strongly in its final communiqué, but France professed itself satisfied that the meeting had started the preparations for the main conference later in the year. I assured France of Ireland’s support in this work.
