A closed-meeting discussion was held in Athens on Wednesday, where Israeli and Palestinian delegates met with representatives from the EU, World Bank and IMF in order to discuss a report conducted by the RAND Corporation regarding the “cost of conflict” in the Middle East.
The meeting in Athens was held as the American deadline of the 29th of April looms, at which point both sides are meant to come to a Framework Agreement for a final solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The recent Fatah-Hamas agreement has seemingly stalled negotiations between the two conflicting sides.
The Athens meeting came after the RAND Corporation’s VP Charlie Ries contacted the General Secretary of International Financial Relations Panagiotis Michalos in December 2013. With first impressions of Greece’s involvement being positive, it appears that Greece may play a more active role in the next phases of the ongoing peace process.
The possibility of Greece assuming a more active role in the peace process was first discussed between the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland and General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anastasios Mitsialis, when they met in Washington D.C. a few months ago.
