US Doesn’t Expect “Game-Changing Result” from Paris Talks on Mideast

US Secretary of State John Kerry will attend a Mideast peace conference in Paris on Sunday, in a move likely to dismay an already angry Israel.

Washington, 15 Rabiul Akhir 1438/14 January 2017 (MINA) – The US does not expect any major announcements to come out of upcoming talks on the Middle East which State Secretary John Kerry and dozens of ministers are set to attend in Paris.

“We’re not expecting any major new announcements to necessarily come out of this meeting” or “some kind of game-changing result,” KUNA quoted State Department spokesman Mark Toner as saying in a briefing Friday.

“It is an opportunity for all engaged and interested stakeholders in the Middle East peace process to get together, share ideas and try to discuss a way forward,” Toner added.

Toner mentioned that Secretary Kerry “is there to represent US interests” at the talks, expected to be attended by ministers from around 70 countries.

In an address late December, Kerry fiercely critisised Israel’s settlement expansion policy, saying it has put a viable two-state solution with the Palestinians in “serious jeopardy.”

Neither Israel or the Palestinian leadership are set to attend the talks in Paris, which will come weeks after a US veto allowed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement to pass. (T/RS05/RS01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)