Estonia's position on US Middle East peace plan to be issued by Thursday

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), the fact that the United States has submitted a peace plan for the Middle East is a positive step, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue a more detailed position by Thursday.
"The U.S.' initiative is very laudable, and it has been awaited for quite some time already," Reinsalu told ERR. He refrained, however, from providing a more precise assessment of the details of the 180-page plan.
"It was published on the homepage of the White House late last night, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently working through it, and at this juncture, I'd avoid a detailed comment regarding it," the minister said. "But I find it important to stress that, first of all, this step is a positive and very important one. Estonia as a member of the UN Security Council sees its role in encouraging both sides of the peace process — Palestine, Israel and other countries in the region — to engage in political dialogue regarding the peace process."
He also indirectly criticized those who have already criticized the U.S. plan.
"To say prior to or immediately after the introduction of the plan that they are not prepared to come to the table and discuss things — that certainly isn't a positive development," Reinsalu said.
According to the Estonian minister, the peace plan will definitely also be discussed by EU foreign ministers in the near future. He also referred to High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Bordell having already welcomed the initiative.
"It is welcomed by Estonia as well," Reinsalu continued. "But as this set of questions is hidden in so many details of very different ideas included in the volume of a large book — such as the establishment of a Middle Eastern security cooperation program, and several other interesting initiatives for ensuring security in the region — then we will definitely compile reasoned positions, and I plan on presenting my initial position to the government this Thursday already. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on drawing it up today."
U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a Middle Eastern peace plan on Tuesday that anticipates an independent Palestine, the capital of which would be located in East Jerusalem. Trump nonetheless stressed, however, that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla