The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung has revealed that Quartet Special Envoy Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are planning to hold a Middle East peace summit in Berlin later this year, in an effort to push forward the peace process begun in Annapolis last year. The German newspaper has not revealed its sources, nor does this seem to be an official announcement by the European Union. Nevertheless the timing of this 'leak' does seem significant, coming just days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that he was planning to visit the Middle East to promote the idea of having a Middle East peace conference in Moscow. Lavrov is expected to arrive in the region next week, and intends to address the situation in Gaza, and will raise the possibility of renewing negotiations with the Syrian government on the Golan Heights.

Quote: ""Many of our partners confirm they are interested in holding an international Middle East meeting in Moscow," Kamynin said. The conference is being arranged "to stop setbacks in the peace process and give the sides a chance to deliver their Annapolis commitments," he added.

Shortly following the Annapolis peace conference in November of last year, Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia was planning to resurrect its proposal of holding a Middle East peace conference in Moscow. Russia has long called for a Middle East peace conference to be held on its territory, presumably in an effort to increase its dominance in the region. But this latest announcement by the European Union will no doubt put a dampener on Lavrov's visit to the Middle East and his efforts to promote the idea of a Russian peace conference. Perhaps Russia's recent sabre-rattling at Britain and other European states, in poisoning the British spies, the gas crisis in the Ukraine and the resumption of Cold War bombing runs, has put the EU off the idea of further Russian involvement in an already troubled Middle East.  

Quote: "All European Union members, several Arab states, the Middle East quartet of Russia, the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Palestinian and Israeli officials will all be invited to the talks, the paper said, without identifying the source of its information. The aim of the meeting will be to push forward the peace process and prepare Palestinians to take over responsibility for their own state, the paper added.

This meeting will follow on the heels of the Palestinian Donor's Conference, which was held in France at the end last year. Over $7billion was pledged by the international community for the establishment of a Palestinian state, but so far little progress made in achieving this. And according to prophecy, it seems that an independent Palestinian state will never be achieved. The Bible states that during the tribulation period, the Gentiles will be in siege both against Judea and Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2). Judea and east Jerusalem will go into captivity (Revelation 11:2), and for a period of three and a half years the Jewish people will undergo such a time of trouble that the Bible says there has never been a time like it, nor will there ever be a time like it again (Daniel 12:1). Jeremiah describes it as the time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). All this will come upon the nation of Israel because of their rejection of the Messiah. But there is hope. The Lord has said in His Word that though He will make a full end of all the nations to which He has scattered His people, He will not make a full end of Israel. And in that day when Christ returns, all Israel shall be saved (Zechariah 12:10, Revelation 11:26). Are you saved? Have your sins been forgiven? When John the Baptist saw Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world", John 1:29. Only Jesus Christ is able to take your sin away. Trust in Him for salvation today.

Source Reuters, China View, Jerusalem Post