DOHA, June 12 (Sputnik) – Qatar and other mediators in the Gaza peace talks are determined to overcome differences between Israel and Hamas to achieve a permanent ceasefire, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Wednesday.
“This is an issue that we have been struggling with for a very long time — how to ensure that we bridge the gap between those two fundamental differences, between what Hamas wants and what Israel wants,” he said at a joint press conference in Doha alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The top Qatari diplomat said efforts taken by Qatar, Egypt and the United States were the best way to breach those gaps and ensure that the negotiating process kept going forward until a permanent ceasefire was reached.
What worries the mediators most is that finding common ground between the parties takes a lot of time, Al Thani added.
“Of course, this is not an easy process, these are very complex negotiations … I think it has a lot of baggage … But all of us, we reiterate that having a deal on a ceasefire is a cornerstone for our way forward,” he said.
On Monday, the UN Security Council voted 14-0 to adopt a US-drafted resolution welcoming the Gaza ceasefire proposal announced by Biden on May 31 and calling on Hamas to accept it.