But, just five days before Trump is sworn in, the conference provides a platform for countries to send a strong signal to the future American leader. "It would be a unilateral decision that could escalate tensions on the ground," a senior French diplomat said. Obama's secretary of state, John Kerry, said the settlement program threatened Middle East peace, and that the two-state was in "serious jeopardy". Home to Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities, France has tried to breathe new life into the peace process over the past year. We need to give the new US administration time to assess what they want to do," said a Middle Eastern diplomat based in Paris.

Source: bd News24 January 15, 2017 04:13 UTC