Spain could host Middle East peace conference in 2000
Spanish prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, said Sunday Spain could host next year a new conference on peace in the Middle East.
Aznar who met recently with Israeli premier, Ehud Barak, and Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, said there are still many difficulties before a definitive settlement is reached between Israelis, on the one hand and Syrians, Palestinians and Lebanese on the other.
He also stressed that the year 2000 will be a good one for the peace process, expressing readiness to play a mediation role to promote dialogue and negotiation opportunities between leaders in the region.
He also voiced confidence that Israel will accept the proclamation of a Palestinian state and said Spain would be the first country to recognize the Palestinian state.
Spain had hosted in 1991 the first international conference on peace in the Middle East, which was attended by the Israeli premier, the Palestinian president, Arab countries, the USA and Russia, cosponsors of the process, and Europe.
