U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and the Palestinians on Wednesday to seize the opportunity for negotiations following the diplomatic agreements between Israel and two Gulf Arab states that resulted in the suspension of any Israeli annexation of territory that the Palestinians want for a future state.
He said at a news conference that the United Nations has been pushing hard not only to promote direct contact but also to try to find a format in which the Quartet of Mideast mediators - the U.N., U.S., European Union and Russia - or a group of countries linked to the Quartet could meet.
"Until now, we were not able to gather the consensus necessary for that, but we will persist in our efforts," he said. "It is very important not to give up on the peace process in the Middle East."