RIYADH: Renewed Middle East peace talks could begin as soon as Thursday as the US and Iran face growing pressure to resume negotiations that collapsed last week in Islamabad.
Pakistan again offered itself as host, China floated a peace proposal, France urged the resumption of talks, and US President Donald Trump said Tehran was keen to reach an agreement.
“We’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly,” Trump said. “Something could be happening over the next two days.” Islamabad was the likely venue because Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir was “doing a great job,” he said.
And in an interview with ABC News Trump said he was not thinking about extending the ceasefire with Iran.
“It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild,” Trump told the reporter.
Pakistani officials said the initial negotiations were part of an ongoing diplomatic process rather than a one-off effort, and Pakistan had proposed a second round in Islamabad.
A source involved in the talks said a proposal had been shared with Washington and Tehran for their delegations to return to the Pakistani capital. “No firm date has been set, with the delegations keeping Friday through Sunday open,” the source said.
French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions by phone with Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and urged the resumption of negotiations. “It is essential, in particular, that the ceasefire be strictly respected by all parties,” he said.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said China could play a key role in ending the war, and urged it to do more on the diplomatic front. “I find it very difficult to find other interlocutors, beyond China, who can resolve this situation in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,” he said on Tuesday during a visit to Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping floated his own peace plan on Tuesday. It calls for peaceful coexistence, respect for national sovereignty, and coordinating development and security.
“Safeguard the authority of the international rule of law. It can’t be ‘use it when it suits us, discard it when it doesn’t,’ and we cannot allow the world to revert to the law of the jungle,” Xi said.
(With agencies)
