EU, USA, UN And Russia Agree On Mideast

The international community is for the first time agreed on the need to establish a Palestinian state, but the parties involved can't seem to agree on how to make progress, the UN Middle East peace envoy said Wednesday. Terje Larsen, who kicked off his Middle East tour in Cairo, told reporters at a press conference that the European Union, United States, United Nations and Russia advocate the establishment of a Palestinian state. "In a way, for the first time, there is a consensus on where to go," Larsen said. The envoy added that everyone, except the Israelis and the Palestinians, seems to agree on the steps required to break the stalemate in the Middle East peace process. "The problem is that the two parties are unable to take the first step and this is the challenge at hand," Larsen added. A number of Middle East peace envoys have been touring the region recently on behalf of the United States, the European Union and Russia, the Russia Journal reported.