The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, seeks to maintain a leading role in the peace negotiations in the Middle East. Following the success at the United Nations General Assembly, where he garnered broad support for the recognition of the State of Palestine, this Thursday he has organized a high-level interministerial meeting as part of "the continuity of French diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza and reopen a political perspective," as reported on Wednesday in a briefing by Quentin Jeantet, advisor for North Africa and the Middle East.
This meeting, attended by José Manuel Albares as Spain's representative, "represents a new stage following the materialization, in September, of the Franco-Saudi initiative in favor of the two-state solution, formalized through the New York Declaration (UN General Assembly)," the advisor continued.
The meeting takes place shortly after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced in Washington that the terrorist group Hamas and the Israeli government had reached a preliminary agreement that would lay the foundation for the peace plan. This agreement involves the release of the 20 Israeli hostages who are still alive in the coming days, and the return of the bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The negotiating team has been meeting in Cairo for days and has also set the end of bombings in the northern area of the Strip starting at eleven in the morning on Thursday, as well as halting the advance of Israeli forces.
The meeting in Paris was expected to include the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, although his presence is now in doubt after this milestone was made public on Wednesday. The countries that will definitely participate in the meeting to be held at the Quai d'Orsay Clock Room at five in the afternoon are: the High Representative of the European Union, Kaja Kallas. Representing the Arab countries will be Qatar (Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. From Europe, the attendees will be the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Additionally, representatives from Canada and Indonesia will be present. As stated in the note, "Israel and the Palestinian Authority are participating in the discussions, but are not yet ready to sit together at the same table."