UN envoy asks for action to change trajectory of Mideast peace

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A UN envoy on Thursday called for international action to reverse the current negative trend in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and help the two sides rebuild trust.

"We can wait no longer to reverse the current negative trajectory of this conflict," Nikolay Mladenov, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the UN Security Council.

"Every illegal settlement advancement (by Israel), every person killed and every failed effort in Gaza makes it more difficult for Palestinians and Israelis to overcome their divisions, rebuild trust, and invest in the goal of resolving the conflict. It is time to break this destructive pattern and begin again to lay the foundations for peace."

He warned that the peace process is at a critical point as the uncertainty and volatility of the current environment is hardening positions and sharpening the rhetoric on all sides, a situation that plays directly into the hands of extremists and increases the risk of another conflict.

"The international community must continue to build the conditions necessary for a resumption of talks. We must also reaffirm the international consensus that the two-state solution remains the only viable option for a just and sustainable end to the conflict. We must be unwavering in this position," Mladenov told the Security Council via teleconference from Jerusalem.

"Our choice is clear. We either take urgent concrete steps to reverse this perilous course or risk another conflict and humanitarian disaster," he noted. Enditem