VATICAN CITY, JULY 1, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican believes that a «friendly presence» is necessary in the Middle East to make possible the implementation of the «road map» for peace.
Israelis and Palestinians must be helped to «talk with one another, and to look at one another around a common table,» the Vatican secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, said on Monday.
Among other objectives, the so-called road map, sponsored by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, calls for the declaration of a sovereign Palestinian state.
The plan constitutes «notable progress, due to the commitment of the United States,» and is an «example of how the international community, when it works in a unitary manner, can obtain results,» Archbishop Tauran said.
The archbishop believes that it is important to ensure «respect for agreements» through a «friendly presence, of peace or insertion,» although «it is not up to the Holy See to propose the technical formula.»
This would make possible the implementation of the plan in a land where «one must always be conscious of the fact that, at night there is a peace process, in the morning an attack, and in the afternoon the outbreak of war,» he concluded.
ZENIT Daily dispatch - The World Seen from Rome
1. juli 2003