MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. The "deal of the century" on Middle Eastern settlement announced by US President Donald Trump needs to be analyzed but if the sides agree to negotiate on the basis of Washington's plan, it will be a common success, chairman of the Russian Federation Council's Committee on International Relations Konstantin Kosachev wrote on his official Facebook account on Tuesday.
"The 'deal of the century' announced by Trump, of course, needs detailed analysis, and not only in its substantive part, but also in its resonant part, when it comes to the reactions of the two parties in the old Middle Eastern conflict. And if everyone — what if? — not that they will unconditionally accept Washington's proposal but will at least start negotiations on its basis, that would be a common success, and I think it is not as important who suggested the plan in the first place," Kosachev said.
He reminded that the Administration of former US President Barack Obama played an important role in the deal on the Iranian nuclear program, and "everyone acknowledged it, including in Russia, without any jealousy." Kosachev stressed that the main thing is the result.
"Deal of the century"
Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced the "deal of the century" - a plan for Middle Eastern settlement on the basis of the two-state solution. Special attention is focused on the status of Jerusalem, border issues, security guarantees, a free trade zone, prisoners and refugees, and the rules for further negotiations.
“This Vision would achieve mutual recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and Palestine as the nation-state of the Palestinian people—each with equal civil rights for all its citizens. The plan designates defensible borders for the State of Israel and does not ask Israel to compromise on the safety of its people, affording them overriding security responsibility for land west of the Jordon River. For Palestinians, the Vision delivers significant territorial expansion, allocating land roughly comparable in size to the West Bank and Gaza for establishing a Palestinian State. Transportation links would allow efficient movement between Gaza and the West Bank, as well as throughout Palestine. The plan does not call for uprooting any people, Arab or Jew, from their homes,” the White House said. However Jerusalem, according to Trump, “will remain the sovereign capital of the State of Israel, and it should remain an undivided city.”
As a condition for the peace process, Trump cited the Palestinian authorities’ refusal from supporting the Hamas radical movement operating in Gaza and from methods of armed confrontation. The plan suggests more than 50 billion US dollars be facilitated in new investments over ten years as support to the settlement efforts.