Kushner meets EU officials to discuss peace plan

EU says US peace plan must include “viable political progress that takes into account aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis.”

US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East peace adviser Jared Kushner on Tuesday met European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker for talks in Brussels, AFP reported.

Kushner arrived in Brussels from London, where his father-in-law is making a state visit. The trip comes at a time when international hopes are dimming for a US peace plan for the Middle East.

A commission spokesman said Juncker and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini “listened to Mr. Kushner’s ideas and underlined the fundamental interest of the European Union for a lasting and sustainable peace and stability in the region.”

Acknowledging that economic development was “crucial”, the EU insisted “it must be accompanied by viable political progress that takes into account the aspirations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis,” the spokesman added in a statement.

The meeting comes as the US set to lay out an economic component of its Middle East peace plan, which has been spearheaded by Kushner, on June 25 and 26 in Bahrain.

It is not yet clear when the political aspects of the plan — which are expected to avoid calling for the creation of a Palestinian state — will be unveiled.

While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has indicated he will not reject the peace plan outright, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has rejected the US peace plan before it has even been unveiled, claiming it is biased in favor of Israel.

While the US peace plan is expected not to include a call for the so-called “two-state” solution, the EU is still firmly behind the solution, which calls for the establishment of a Palestine alongside Israel with Jerusalem as capital of both states.