The veteran negotiators Hussein Agha, representing Palestine, and Robert Malley, an American diplomat, played instrumental roles in that long effort, including the critical Camp David summit of 2000. But, in their new book, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," they conclude that they were part of a charade. "A waste of time is almost a charitable way to look at it," Malley notes bitterly. "At the end of that thirty-year-or-so period, the Israelis and Palestinians are in a worse situation than before the U.S. got so heavily invested."
He nevertheless conceded he should have been more tolerant in his remarks to the reporters who shouted questions after he met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun earlier this week. Animalistic' was a word that I didn't use in a derogatory manner. I'm just saying: Can we calm down? Can we find some tolerance and kindness? Let's be civilised, said Barrack, who serves as ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria and Lebanon.
A U.S. official noted a pattern: the progress was made without much personal intervention by Trump, but by envoys invoking his name and convincing countries they'll improve their standing by making a deal. "2025 is a year of opportunity for Trump to make peace, because leaders around the world see Trump as super strong and want to be on his good side. Now, Trump can be the most effective in his diplomacy. But every day that passes, this superpower diminishes," the official said.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace agreement at the White House, ending decades of conflict with US involvement, including key transportation routes.
A State Department spokesperson stated that mission-critical functions will be integrated elsewhere in the department, indicating that many offices eliminated had an outdated or duplicative purpose.
The canceling of the two stops followed quickly by Trump's new, higher tariffs on both undercuts the two pillars of U.S. strategy in Asia: our commitment to Asian security and our centrality to Asia growth and prosperity.
As the military plans were put into action during a key diplomatic visit by President Biden, it underscores how seriously the Israeli government is treating the cessation of hostilities.