WAM PARIS, 9th September, 2013 (WAM) — The Bahrain Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, has commended the efforts of US President, Barack Obama, and US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in the continuation of the Palestinian – Israeli direct negotiations and advancing peace in the Middle East.

He asserted that a just and comprehensive peace cannot be achieved unless Israel withdraws fully from the occupied Arab territories of 1967, in Palestine and the occupied Syrian Arab Golan, as well as occupied land in southern Lebanon.

The Foreign Minister added that another important condition to achieve such just and comprehensive peace is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, which are the principles contained in the Arab Peace Initiative and reflected in the resolutions of international legitimacy relevant .

Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed was speaking at the Paris meeting of the Arab Ministerial Delegation of the Follow-up Committee for the Arab Peace Initiative, with the US Secretary of State.

The meeting was held to discuss the latest developments of the Palestinian issue and the peace process in the Middle East, in addition to the results of direct negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides. Mr. Kerry presented a detailed account of the American efforts towards negotiations between the two sides to reach a final and comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian issue.

The attendees also discussed the latest developments of the situation in Syria. Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa seized the opportunity to express full backing for the Saudi stance regarding Syria. Attending the recent G20 summit meetings in Russia, Saudi Arabia urged a firm and a strong international response to deter the violations carried out by the Syrian regime by using forbidden chemical weapons against innocent civilians, and ensure that they are not repeated again.

WAM/MZ/CM