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An article full of superlatives and high marks was dedicated to diplomat Nikolay Mladenov, who at the end of 2020 ended his term as UN Special Representative to the Middle East.
Under the headline “Calmed Gaza, Aided Israel’s Arab Ties and Kept Hope for Peace,” David Holbfinger, bureau chief of Israel’s largest American newspaper, summed up that, after six years of quiet diplomacy as an envoy of the UN to the Middle East, Nikolai Mladenov leaves to a chorus of praise from different sides of the conflict, who find it difficult to find common ground.
During his nearly six years in office as special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nikolai Mladenov has been quietly working in the background to help keep the Gaza Strip from boiling again, to preserve the possibility of a solution between the two. countries and to build support for Arab-Israeli normalization as a widely preferred alternative to Israeli annexation of land in the West Bank, “the author writes. He added:” He has earned the respect of almost everyone he has worked with, many of the which are seen as enemies. “
“A very honest mediator,” said Rami Hamdala, a former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
“I trusted him personally,” said Moshe Kalon, a former Israeli finance minister.
“An honorable man,” said Jason Greenblatt, a former Trump administration official in the Middle East.
“We are happy to meet him,” said Khalil al-Haya, Hamas deputy leader in Gaza.
The New York Times adds that Mladenov, 48, is returning to Bulgaria after rejecting an offer to occupy a senior UN post in Libya. According to him, this is necessary due to a “serious health problem”.
The newspaper recalls that in 2016 Nikolay Mladenov encouraged the main mediators of the negotiation process in the Middle East, the US, Russia, the EU and the UN to draw up a report with concrete steps, which would at least preserve the possibility of a two-state solution.
Acting in the absence of negotiations was contrary to the then prevailing diplomatic doctrine that the most important thing was to resume negotiations.
“I don’t think things will work out that way. You may have the best deal in the world, but while the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza disagree, I wish you good luck with its implementation,” Mladenov said.
“Since then, his approach has gained wide recognition.
In Gaza, a territory constantly on the brink of a new war, Mladenov has set out to avoid it, the New York Times reported, recalling the Bulgarian diplomat’s mediation efforts to defuse tensions.
“Mladenov was one of the first high-ranking officials to conclude that nothing could stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from fulfilling his promises to annex the West Bank, but that he could be persuaded to abandon annexation in the West Bank – the name of something else. important: the normalization of relations with the Arab countries, which have long rejected the Jewish state.
Mladenov did not take credit for Israel’s agreements to normalize relations with Arab states, but he is working to promote the idea of using normalization of relations as a reward for Israel for abandoning annexation plans.
The Palestinians perceive the agreements between the Jewish state and the Arab countries as treason, but Mladenov points out that in the long run these agreements will also benefit them, “the newspaper said.
“Now there is an agreement. This is important. Neither Israel nor the Arab countries will want to fail. This creates levers of influence for some countries in Israel,” the diplomat said.
Mladenov was not a fan of Trump’s peace plan, but said the ongoing changes create exciting opportunities for his successor as UN envoy Thor Venezuela of Norway.
“This is a different world. And despite all its shortcomings, it may actually be a better world,” said the diplomat.
