Israeli to hold historic summit of top diplomats from Arab countries

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2022-03-25T23:40:25+05:00 News Desk

Israel link said it will host link a "historic summit link" from Sunday of top diplomats from the United States and three Arab link with which it has normalised ties.

"At the invitation of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, this upcoming Sunday and Monday... a historic diplomatic summit link be held in Israel link," the foreign ministry said on Friday.

A series of diplomatic meetings would be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, it said, without giving further details.

The United Arab link Emirates forged diplomatic ties with Israel link in 2020 under a series of US-brokered deals known as the Abraham Accords.

Bahrain and Morocco followed suit, while Sudan also agreed to normalise ties with Israel link although it has yet to finalise a deal.

The agreements -- reached under former US president Donald Trump -- broke with decades of Arab link consensus that there would be no relations with Israel link while the Palestinian question remains unresolved.

But the Arab link countries said they were motivated by economic benefits of ties with Israel link.

The upcoming talks come against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has sparked wider security concerns and sent oil and food prices soaring. IMPACT OF UKRAINE WAR

It also follows a three-way summit link by Egypt on Tuesday at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the UAE's de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

Egypt was the first Arab link country to sign a peace treaty with Israel link in 1979, after decades of enmity and conflict. Jordan followed suit in 1994.

It was not immediately known where the top diplomats would meet in Israel link.

But the talks are being organised to coincide with a regional tour by Blinken due to begin on Saturday.

The US secretary of state is due to hold talks with the Israeli premier before meeting Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas at his Ramallah headquarters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Blinken is also due to visit Algeria and Morocco at a time when the region is reeling from the backlash of Russia's war on Ukraine.

"We know this pain is keenly felt in the Middle East and North Africa, where most countries import at least half of their wheat" -- much of it from Ukraine, State Department Acting Assistant Secretary Yael Lempert told reporters in Washington.

While in Morocco, Blinken is also due to meet the UAE's de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the State Department said.

Blinken's visit also comes amid Israeli efforts to mediate a solution to the war in Ukraine which has left both sides with heavy losses and shows no signs of abating.

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