UN pressed on Middle East talks

Security Council agrees to meet to discuss stalled peace process.

Zalmay Khalilzad US United Nations ambassador
Khalilzad said the meeting was aimed at movingthe "peace process" forward [EPA]

Peace talks stalled

All sides in the Annapolis talks have said the year-end deadline for a deal will not be met.

The talks have been symied by ongoing violence, disputes over illegal Jewish settlement-building on Palestinian land and the future of Jerusalem, which both sides claim as a future capital.

In addition, Bush leaves office on January 20, when Barack Obama, the US president-elect, will take over as president.

Churkin said that a new UN meeting was essential as the Middle East conflict was “now at quite a delicate and important stage”.

“It’s been a long time since the security council has approved any kind of joint reaction [or] joint signal on the matter of the Middle East peace process,” he said.

The so-called Middle East quartet of peace negotiators – comprised of the European Union, Russia, the UN and the US – are also due to meet at the UN headquarters in New York City on Monday and will in addition hold talks with Arab foreign ministers.

Source: News Agencies