August 16, 2020
By: Staff Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The announcement of a peace deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, was a surprise to some, and unknown to many.
“This is a truly historic moment. Not since the Israel-Jordan peace treaty was signed more than 25 years ago has so much progress been made towards peace in the Middle East,” said President Donald Trump, “By uniting two of America’s closest and most capable partners in the region — something which said could not be done — this deal is a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous Middle East.”
Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have inaugurated direct telephone services between their countries today, following their agreement last week to normalize relations.
The countries’ foreign ministers called each other and “exchanged greetings following the historic peace accord”, a statement said.
I spoke today with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, we decided to establish a direct line between us in advance of our normalization agreement, and we agreed to meet soon. pic.twitter.com/nzxIdAlJuw
— גבי אשכנזי – Gabi Ashkenazi (@Gabi_Ashkenazi) August 16, 2020
This historical peace agreement will pave the way for normalization in the Middle East and open doors for exchange in embassies and ambassadors, and begin cooperation across the board and on a broad range of areas, including tourism, education, healthcare, trade, and security.
President Trump said, “I want to thank the leaders of Israel and the UAE for their courage and for their leadership to forge this tremendous agreement. It will be known as the “Abraham Accord.”
In the briefing, Avi Berkowitz, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations, said, “It’s just a historic accomplishment, and it’s — it’s peace. Peace is a beautiful thing, and it’s something that everybody in the country should celebrate, I hope. And I’m just so honored to — to be here and to serve in your administration.”
The full press conference is below:
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