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Carter's Middle East peace push may not succeed says US official

Former US President Jimmy Carter's ambitious visit to the Middle East in the hope of striking a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians is ineffective and may not make any progress, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs told reporters on Sunday night, during a brief visit to Abu Dhabi.

  • By Marten Youssef, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 19:09 April 20, 2008
  • Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: Former US President Jimmy Carter's ambitious visit to the Middle East in the hope of striking a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians is ineffective and may not make any progress, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs told reporters on Sunday night, during a brief visit to Abu Dhabi.

"We offered our advice. We don't agree this is a good approach and we are sceptical it will produce any results," Secretary David Welch said.

Asserting Carter's freedom to act as he wills, Secretary Welch said: "Because Carter is a well-known public figure with a genuine moral intention, his position and views might be misrepresented. It's not uncommon for Hamas to take propaganda advantage of such things with no real change in their position whatsoever."

Carter's visit to the region has received much criticism from his native US, primarily due to his desire to meet with the Hamas excited leader Khalid Mesha'al.

After a closed-door meeting in Damascus on Friday and Israel's Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai agreed to meet with Hamas leader, Carter's campaign has gained more momentum and credibility. But from the official stance of the US government, Hamas should be left out of the negotiation table.

On an official visit to region, Welch started his trip in Israel and traveled to Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

Following his visit to the UAE, Welch will travel to Bahrain where he will meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for talks with Gulf Cooperation Council Countries along with Egypt and Jordan.

Following the Bahrain gathering, the US delegation will travel to Kuwait for the Expanded Neighbours of Iraq Ministerial.

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