MADRID, 11 January 2007 — At a critical juncture of the Middle East conflict, influential figures in their individual capacities from Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United States, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Russia will gather here this week to stress that it is possible for all sides to meet and examine the issues soberly and constructively.
“The aim is to re-energize Middle East peace talks,” says John Marks, president of Search for Common Ground. “Despite all the obstacles, we hope to restart meaningful negotiations.”
In order to reignite the spirit of peacemaking of the 1991 Madrid Middle East Peace Conference, five international civil society organizations — Toledo International Center for Peace, Search for Common Ground, Fundacion Tres Culturas, FAFO Institute and International Crisis Group — have joined efforts to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 1991 Madrid peace conference. The rare gathering began its three-day meeting yesterday.
As a civil society initiative, participants are from civil society, government and academia. Madrid+15 is an unofficial gathering and not a negotiation.
There is an inaugural plenary session where participating groups will give speeches, followed by plenary working sessions where various issues will be discussed including a regional approach to peace.
