UN chief, Qatari PM stress need for de-escalation in Mideast

DOHA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani jointly stressed the need for de-escalating conflicts in the Middle East region, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
During a phone conversation, the two officials discussed the developments in the Gaza Strip, “especially the joint mediation efforts to end the war on the grip,” the statement said.
Guterres voiced his appreciation for Qatar’s continuous efforts “aimed at a just, comprehensive, and sustainable solution to the Palestine issue,” it added.
Qatar, the United States and Egypt mediated a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas that ended in late November 2023. However, subsequent mediation efforts over the past few months have not yielded ideal results.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations took place in Doha on Thursday and Friday, following which the three mediators issued a joint statement announcing that the talks have made “constructive” progress and that relevant parties would continue their efforts in the coming days to negotiate the details of the deal’s implementation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office expressed gratitude for the mediators’ efforts and hoped they would lead Hamas to accept the terms of a proposal made in late May.
Meanwhile, Hamas, which did not participate directly, accused Israel of adding new conditions to a previously supported proposal, and accused the U.S. administration of trying to create a “false positive atmosphere,” expressing skepticism about the negotiations’ outcome. ■