Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to hold urgent consultations on convening an international peace conference, the Xinhua news agency reports.
Abbas sent Guterres a letter in which he asked him to coordinate with the Quartet on the Middle East and the UN Security Council to hold the conference.
The letter called on the majority of the council's superpowers "to start preparing at the beginning of next year for an international conference for peace in the Middle East."
Abbas said that a conference will help pave the way to engage in a serious peace process based on international law, UN resolutions, and relevant references.
The PA chairman said the conference "has to lead to an end to the (Israeli) occupation and help the Palestinian people achieve their freedom and independence."
Earlier this week, PA “foreign minister” Riyad al-Maliki urged the UN Security Council to “rescue” the stalled peace process in the Middle East by holding an international conference.
Abbas has repeatedly pushed for an international conference for peace in the Middle East, aimed at bypassing the US efforts to resume talks.
Last month, a senior PA official said the PA had started diplomatic steps to hold an international peace conference at the beginning of 2021.