Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Friday 17 February 2017
From backrooms to banquet, top envoys seek to engage US

FRANK JORDANS porting refugees and in- numbers of Syrians, Iraqis ing future crises, as well as putting “America first” will
Associated Press vesting in international de- and Afghans fleeing con- support for Africa, were mean in practice, and
BONN, Germany (AP) — velopment, he argued. flicts in their home countries also on the agenda. what kind of grasp the new
Envoys from leading global The Trump administration in recent years, resulting In practice, the meeting administration in Washing-
powers called Thursday is leaning heavily on its al- in costs of “30 to 40 billion was an opportunity for ton has of foreign policy.
for greater cooperation The answers they received
to tackle current conflicts didn’t always add clarity.
and prevent future crises, France’s foreign minister,
pushing back against the Jean-Marc Ayrault, said he
isolationist tendencies that left a meeting with Tiller-
some diplomats fear could son “preoccupied” by the
flourish with the new U.S. U.S. stance on the Mideast
administration. conflict. Ayrault said Tiller-
Speaking after a meet- son suggested there might
ing of top diplomats from be another solution besides
the 20 largest industrialized two separate states for Is-
and emerging economies, raelis and Palestinians —
Germany’s foreign minis- long the international con-
ter said no single country sensus.
could solve issues such as On the nuclear deal with
climate change, terrorism Iran, Ayrault told reporters
and mass migration alone. he felt “a point of diver-
“It can only be done with gence” after Tillerson said
cooperation and open- the U.S. would review the
ness, not by withdrawing agreement “from scratch.”
into one’s national shell or With trans-Atlantic ties in
circling the wagons,” For- doubt, some in Europe
eign Minister Sigmar Ga- Front row from left, Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Argentina’s Foreign Minister Susa- are casting their eyes else-
briel told reporters in Bonn, na Malcorra, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stand where in search of allies.
Germany. with others at the G20 foreign ministers meeting group photo at the World Conference Center in Gabriel indicated that Ger-
Bonn, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Foreign ministers from 20 of the world’s leading nations
Gabriel said all delega- met Thursday in the former German capital to discuss current conflicts and ways to prevent future many was keen to improve
tions that spoke Thursday crises against a backdrop of uncertainty among allies and adversaries about the direction of U.S. its sometimes tense rela-
backed a call from U.N. foreign policy. tions with Russia and China.
Secretary-General Antonio (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool) Still, Gabriel echoed the
Guterres to support multi- U.S. stance on Ukraine by
lateral diplomacy. He de- lies in Europe to raise their (euros) last year for almost many foreign ministers, insisting that Moscow lean
clined to say whether the defense budget to NATO’s a million refugees, who by including those of Saudi on pro-Russia separatists
U.S. delegation spoke. target of 2 percent of GDP, the way are the product of Arabia, Britain and Rus- in eastern Ukraine to pull
Gabriel, who is hosting a move that would cost misguided military interven- sia, to hold their first face- back their heavy weapons
two days of talks among Germany up to 25 billion tions around the world.” to-face talks with recently from the front line.
the so-called Group of 20, euros ($27 billion) more Officially, the talks in Bonn confirmed U.S. Secretary of The foreign ministers of
also rebuffed demands for each year. were focused on the 17 State Rex Tillerson. Russia, Ukraine, France
Germany to sharply hike its Gabriel said the U.S. was so-called sustainable de- Diplomats acknowledged and Germany plan to dis-
defense budget. Europe’s right to ask allies to share velopment goals that the that governments back cuss the conflict in eastern
economic powerhouse more of the defense bur- international community home are thirsting to learn Ukraine at length Satur-
does more for security than den. But he noted that agreed to aim for by 2030. what President Donald day at the Munich Security
many other nations by sup- Germany had taken in vast Recognizing and prevent- Trump’s stated goal of Conference.q

Rift with Trump: UN and Arab heads endorse 2-state solution

JOSEF FEDERMAN U.S.-led peace efforts for arrangement if it is agreed peace in the region. Last endangering the country’s
Associated Press two decades. upon by all sides. Netan- month, days before Trump status as a democracy with
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Unit- After a meeting in Cairo, yahu also was cool to the took office, representatives a Jewish majority.
ed Nations and the Arab U.N. Secretary-General An- idea of an independent from dozens of countries But Netanyahu’s governing
League on Thursday issued tonio Guterres and Arab Palestine, saying he did not reiterated the need for a coalition is dominated by
a joint statement in support League Chief Ahmed want to deal with “labels.” two-state solution. hard-liners opposed to Pal-
of the establishment of a Aboul-Gheit said they The Trump administration In New York, the U.N.’s Mid- estinian statehood, citing
Palestinian state, exposing agreed the two-state so- appeared to backpedal east envoy, Nickolay Mlad- the West Bank’s value as a
a rift with President Donald lution is “the only way to on Thursday, with U.S. Am- enov, urged “leaders on security asset and its con-
Trump, who says it’s up to Is- achieve comprehensive bassador Nikki Haley saying both sides to carefully con- nection to Jewish history.
rael and the Palestinians to and just settlement to the the United States absolute- template the future they A new poll released Thurs-
agree on the form of a final Palestinian cause.” ly supports a two-state solu- envision for their people.” day showed the number of
settlement. The statement put them at tion to the Israeli-Palestinian He said they would need Israelis and Palestinians who
The statement came a day odds with Trump, who said conflict and that anyone to choose between “per- support the establishment
after Trump and the visiting at a White House meeting who thinks it doesn’t is in petual conflict” or “mutual of an independent Pales-
Israeli Prime Minister Ben- with Netanyahu that Mid- “error.” respect.”
jamin Netanyahu refused east peace does not nec- The Palestinians and the If Israel continues to con- tinian state has dropped in
to endorse the two-state essarily have to include the international community trol the occupied West recent months. But far more
solution as the preferred establishment of a Pales- have long favored the Bank, the thinking goes, it people continue to prefer
outcome of peace talks, tinian state. Trump said he establishment of an inde- will eventually have to give the two-state solution to
abandoning what has could accept a two-state pendent Palestinian state millions of Palestinians citi- an alternative single-state
been the cornerstone of solution or a single-state as the preferred way to zenship and voting rights, arrangement.q