Representatives of the countries that participated in or sponsored the original Madrid peace talks gathered together at the initiative of five international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). About 100 people are in attendance, including 11 Israeli delegates.
Among the Israelis at the conference are Knesset Members Yisrael Hason (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor), and former government ministers Dan Meridor, Roni Milo, Moshe Shahal and Shlomo Ben-Ami. Israel sent the largest delegation.
In contrast, Syria sent a very limited delegation to the Madrid gathering, consisting only of the legal counselor to the Syrian president and Foreign Ministry, Riad Daudi, and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Bushra Kanafani.
Former US ambassadors to Israel Dan Kurtzer and Samuel Lewis represented the United States. The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, a native of Spain, also attended, along with former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, whose term included the summit in 1991. Amr Musa, representing the Arab League, spoke at Thursday's session of the conference and called on Israel to "work to become a full member of the Middle East society of nations."
Mikhail Gorbachev, then-premier of the Soviet Union, which co-sponsored the original Madrid conference alongside the US, released a statement on the 15th anniversary of the Madrid peace talks. He said he regretted that "the situation in the Middle East has dramatically aggravated."
Gorbachev also mentioned "destructive, extremist" elements in the Middle East of today, as contrasted with what he characterized as "moderate and responsible politicians who were present 15 years ago."
Voicing similar disappointment, former Spanish Prime Minister Gonzalez said there has been no improvement in relations and stability in the Middle East since the 1991 conference. Therefore, he called for a new international conference of Middle Eastern states to attempt to resolve critical issues facing the region.
In fact, according to the Madrid+15 organizers, the current conference is meant to accomplish more than marking an anniversary. "The aim is to re-energize Middle East peace talks," said John Marks, president of Search for Common Ground, one of the NGOs behind the gathering. Similarly, Emilio Cassinello, director of the Toledo International Centre for Peace, said that the conference "aims to achieve three goals: deliver a message that all parties can convene and that differences are not insurmountable; build on the work of the last 15 years to map the expectations and concerns of all; and serve as a springboard for official talks."
In particular, the NGO backers of Madrid +15 said that they hoped to influence Israel and Syria to come together for talks. The current conference was in fact the first time in seven years that Syrians and Israelis had sat together at the same conference table. A special session on Thursday was meant to discuss possible strategies to jump-start negotiations between Syria and Israel. Despite such efforts, Syrian delegates were under orders from Damascus not to talk to Israeli journalists. The Syrians also reiterated their demand that Israel surrender the Golan Heights as part of any political agreement.
The original Madrid Middle East Peace Conference, initiated in the wake of the first Gulf War against Iraq for the liberation of Kuwait, was the first time Israeli and Arab leaders publicly met face-to-face for deliberations. At the time, Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir refused to attend if there were to be independent delegates representing the terrorist Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO); however, he was coaxed and pushed by the United States to accept PLO delegates as members of the Jordanian delegation.
Within two years, Labor party representatives from Israel secretly closed a deal bringing the PLO, then headed by the late arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat, into Israeli territory: the Oslo Accords.
Among the Israelis at the conference are Knesset Members Yisrael Hason (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor), and former government ministers Dan Meridor, Roni Milo, Moshe Shahal and Shlomo Ben-Ami. Israel sent the largest delegation.
In contrast, Syria sent a very limited delegation to the Madrid gathering, consisting only of the legal counselor to the Syrian president and Foreign Ministry, Riad Daudi, and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Bushra Kanafani.
Former US ambassadors to Israel Dan Kurtzer and Samuel Lewis represented the United States. The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, a native of Spain, also attended, along with former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, whose term included the summit in 1991. Amr Musa, representing the Arab League, spoke at Thursday's session of the conference and called on Israel to "work to become a full member of the Middle East society of nations."
Mikhail Gorbachev, then-premier of the Soviet Union, which co-sponsored the original Madrid conference alongside the US, released a statement on the 15th anniversary of the Madrid peace talks. He said he regretted that "the situation in the Middle East has dramatically aggravated."
Gorbachev also mentioned "destructive, extremist" elements in the Middle East of today, as contrasted with what he characterized as "moderate and responsible politicians who were present 15 years ago."
Voicing similar disappointment, former Spanish Prime Minister Gonzalez said there has been no improvement in relations and stability in the Middle East since the 1991 conference. Therefore, he called for a new international conference of Middle Eastern states to attempt to resolve critical issues facing the region.
In fact, according to the Madrid+15 organizers, the current conference is meant to accomplish more than marking an anniversary. "The aim is to re-energize Middle East peace talks," said John Marks, president of Search for Common Ground, one of the NGOs behind the gathering. Similarly, Emilio Cassinello, director of the Toledo International Centre for Peace, said that the conference "aims to achieve three goals: deliver a message that all parties can convene and that differences are not insurmountable; build on the work of the last 15 years to map the expectations and concerns of all; and serve as a springboard for official talks."
In particular, the NGO backers of Madrid +15 said that they hoped to influence Israel and Syria to come together for talks. The current conference was in fact the first time in seven years that Syrians and Israelis had sat together at the same conference table. A special session on Thursday was meant to discuss possible strategies to jump-start negotiations between Syria and Israel. Despite such efforts, Syrian delegates were under orders from Damascus not to talk to Israeli journalists. The Syrians also reiterated their demand that Israel surrender the Golan Heights as part of any political agreement.
The original Madrid Middle East Peace Conference, initiated in the wake of the first Gulf War against Iraq for the liberation of Kuwait, was the first time Israeli and Arab leaders publicly met face-to-face for deliberations. At the time, Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir refused to attend if there were to be independent delegates representing the terrorist Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO); however, he was coaxed and pushed by the United States to accept PLO delegates as members of the Jordanian delegation.
Within two years, Labor party representatives from Israel secretly closed a deal bringing the PLO, then headed by the late arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat, into Israeli territory: the Oslo Accords.