Madrid Conference of 1991

Madrid Conference of 1991. The Madrid Conference was a historic diplomatic summit convened in late 1991, marking the first time that delegations from Israel, several Arab states, and Palestinian representatives sat together for direct peace talks. Co-sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union, the conference was a cornerstone of post-Cold War diplomacy in the Middle East, initiated in the aftermath of the Gulf War. It established a dual-track framework for negotiations that sought to resolve the long-standing Arab–Israeli conflict through bilateral discussions on specific disputes and multilateral talks on regional issues.

Background and Context

The conference was largely orchestrated by the administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush and his Secretary of State, James Baker, who undertook extensive shuttle diplomacy across the region. A pivotal catalyst was the 1990-1991 Gulf War, where a U.S.-led coalition including Arab states like Egypt and Syria expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait; this altered regional dynamics, weakening the Palestine Liberation Organization due to its support for Saddam Hussein. Simultaneously, the dissolution of the Soviet Union removed a major patron for rejectionist states, creating a U.S.-dominated "New World Order" conducive to American-led peace initiatives. The conference also aimed to fulfill promises made to Arab partners in the coalition and address the ongoing First Intifada, which had highlighted the urgency of the Palestinian issue.

Participants and Format

The formal participants were the state delegations of Israel, led by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, and the Arab parties: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. A major diplomatic innovation was the inclusion of a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, as Israel refused direct negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization; Palestinian members were approved by Israel and were not official PLO representatives, though they consulted closely with Yasser Arafat in Tunis. The conference was held at the Royal Palace under the chairmanship of Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, with the European Community and Gulf states as observers. The format established two distinct tracks: bilateral talks between Israel and each neighboring state and the Palestinian delegation, and separate multilateral negotiations involving broader international parties on issues like water security, refugees, and regional security.

Key Proposals and Negotiations

Opening statements revealed deep-seated positions: the Arab side, particularly Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, demanded full withdrawal from territories occupied since the Six-Day War, including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. The Israeli delegation, emphasizing security, offered autonomy for Palestinians but rejected any territorial concessions or a sovereign Palestinian state. The U.S. and Soviet co-sponsors presented a "letter of assurances" to each party, guaranteeing the talks would not impose solutions. While no breakthroughs occurred in Madrid itself, the critical achievement was launching the bilateral negotiation rounds that immediately followed in Washington, D.C., where teams from Israel and the Palestinians, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan began substantive, though often stalemated, discussions.

Outcomes and Immediate Aftermath

The primary outcome was the institutionalization of the bilateral and multilateral negotiation tracks. The bilateral talks in Washington, D.C. continued intermittently for nearly a year, though they were frequently stalled by disputes over issues like Israeli settlement construction and the composition of the Palestinian delegation. However, a significant indirect result was the creation of a clandestine backchannel in Oslo, facilitated by Norway, which eventually bypassed the Madrid structure. This secret dialogue between Israeli officials and direct representatives of the PLO led to the breakthrough Oslo Accords in 1993, which established the Palestinian Authority and mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO.

Legacy and Historical Significance

The Madrid Conference is historically significant for breaking the taboo of direct public negotiations and setting the procedural framework for all subsequent peace efforts, including the Oslo process, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the ultimately unsuccessful Camp David 2000 Summit. It symbolized the peak of U.S. diplomatic influence in the post-Cold War era and demonstrated the utility of multilateral forums alongside direct talks. While it did not itself produce a final settlement, Madrid is credited with transforming the diplomatic landscape of the Arab–Israeli conflict, making bilateral negotiation the accepted norm and paving the way for later, more substantive, though still elusive, agreements.

Category:Arab–Israeli peace process Category:1991 in Spain Category:History of Madrid Category:1991 conferences