“Arab states can play a game-changing role in steering the (Israeli-Palestinian) conflict towards a resolution and a just and enduring peace that has long eluded this troubled region,” writes Nickolay Mladenov, former foreign minister of Bulgaria in the United Arab Emirate’s National. Mladenov was UN envoy for Iraq and UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.

“Once upon a time, the Middle East Quartet – a grand grouping of the US, Russia, the EU and the UN established in 2002 after the Second Intifada to help mediate Middle East peace and support the Palestinian quest for statehood – stood at the centre of diplomatic efforts. (…) Alas, the geopolitical winds have shifted, and the Quartet's carefully orchestrated diplomatic symphony has devolved into a cacophony of discordant voices. (…) Arab states today have a golden opportunity to put forward a diplomatic blueprint,” Nickolay Mladenov writes and goes on:

“They must advocate relentlessly for an ironclad commitment from the international community, Israel and the US to rally behind a two-state solution firmly rooted in existing agreements, international law and the Arab Peace Initiative. (…) To infuse the process with a much-needed sense of urgency, Arab states and the US should take the lead on an international peace conference to be held before the end of 2024,” writes Nickolay Mladenov who is currently director general of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi.