Prague, March 13 (CTK) – Former Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg, head of the Chamber of Deputies foreign affairs committee, welcomes it that U.S. President Donald Trump deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he told CTK after his talks with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki on Monday.
“President Trump did not make the cardinal mistake of some of his predecessors and he has been dealing with it (the Middle East conflict) from the very beginning,” Schwarzenberg said.
Despite Trump’s involvement, the very long conflict may not be settled in near future, he said.
In his election campaign last year, Trump said he is going to be involved in the Middle East peace process.
In the long term, the USA supports the idea of two states, Israel and an independent Palestine.
Though the Czech Republic is a traditional ally of Israel, it is also interested in the fate of the Palestinians, Schwarzenberg said.
Schwarzenberg and Maliki talked about the current situation in the Middle East. Schwarzenberg said they knew one another from the times when he was minister and the meeting was friendly.
During his Prague visit, Maliki is to meet Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek and Presidential Office foreign policy head Hynek Kmonicek who will become Czech ambassador to Washington soon.
Maliki and Zaoralek met last year in Ramallah, Palestine. Maliki said then that the Czech Republic might assist in the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Czech Foreign Ministry said on Monday’s visit of the two ministers would focus on the development of bilateral political and trade relations and the latest developments in the region of the Middle East and North Africa.
