(AFP) – US envoy Steve Witkoff briefed members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday about various topics, including Gaza, participants in the closed-door talks said. The informal meeting in New York came a day after Witkoff was formally sworn in as President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East.
At the swearing-in ceremony, Trump teased a “very, very big announcement” to come before his multi-nation visit to the Middle East next week, without providing details. Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and close Trump ally, has been acting as lead US negotiator on several major disputes, including the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Iran’s nuclear program.
After the meeting Wednesday, ambassadors from the UN Security Council’s 14 other members declined to give details of Witkoff’s remarks. “It was confidential,” Pakistani Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said. Panamanian Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba called it “an informal meeting, it was very interesting, about various subjects, not only Gaza.”
Since Trump’s return to office in January, there has not been a permanent US ambassador to the UN, making it difficult for council members to stay abreast of American positions on various issues, some diplomats have said. Witkoff also met separately on Wednesday with Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon. Danon said afterward they had an “important discussion about the regional issues.” “We will continue to cooperate with our strongest ally, the United States,” he added.
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