Palestine likely to reject US ‘deal of the century’ for Middle East peace – Lavrov

Palestinians are unlikely to sign off on Washington’s so-called “deal of the century” to bring an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned. “For the past two years, we have heard that a new Middle East initiative – the so-called deal of the century, which supposedly should lead to peace between Arabs and Israel – will soon be announced. Its announcement was once again postponed until the formation of a new Israeli government. If we believe the circulating information, it may be about dubious compromises that run counter to the internationally accepted Middle East settlement base. The acceptability of such a ‘deal’ for the Palestinians seems to be rather doubtful,” Lavrov told the Kuwait News Agency ahead of his tour of the Middle East.