The Madrid Framework

Today's Middle East peace negotiations are being carried out within the structure of the Madrid Framework. This framework, described in the Letter of Invitation to the Madrid Conference, is the product of intensive diplomatic efforts carried out in the region immediately following the Gulf War.

The framework consists of three basic elements:

1. The Opening Conference

The Madrid invitation called for the convening of an opening conference, in order to inaugurate two separate yet parallel negotiating tracks -- the bilateral track and the multilateral track. The conference was designed to serve as a opening forum for all the participants, having no power to impose solutions or veto agreements. The Madrid Conference, hosted by the Government of Spain and co-sponsored by the U.S. and Russia (then the USSR), opened on October 30, 1991 and lasted for three days.

The opening addresses by hosts, co-sponsors and participating delegations reflect the aspirations of each. This conference may only be reconvened with the agreement of all participants.

2. The Bilateral Track

The bilateral negotiations are meant to resolve the conflicts of the past. The first_ever direct talks between Israel and her immediate Arab neighbors opened in Madrid on November 3, 1991, immediately following the Madrid Conference. Over a dozen formal rounds of bilateral talks were subsequently hosted by the US Department of State in Washington.

These talks are, in fact, four separate sets of bilateral negotiations. While the talks with the three Arab states are aimed at achieving peace treaties, the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are based on a two-stage formula: 5-year interim self-government arrangements, to be followed by negotiations on the permanent status issues.

• Israel-Jordan

• Israel-Palestinians

• Israel-Syria

• Israel-Lebanon

3. The Multilateral Track

The multilateral negotiations are meant to build the Middle East of the future, while building confidence among the regional parties. These talks, which opened in Moscow in January 1992, include five separate forums attended by delegations from countries in the region as well as representatives of the international community. The negotiations focus on key issues that concern the entire Middle East -- water, environment, arms control, refugees and economic development. The talks have taken place in working groups which meet periodically in venues throughout the world, including the Middle East.

The Madrid Framework

Inaugurated at the
MADRID CONFERENCE
October 30 - November 1, 1991

Source: Israeli Foreign Ministry