Conferencia de Madrid (1991)
The Madrid Conference was hosted by the government of Spain and co-sponsored by the USA and the USSR. It convened on October 30, 1991 and lasted for three days. It was an early attempt by the international community to start a peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians as well as Arab countries including Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It was the last conference held with both the USSR and US present; the USSR collapsed in 1991.
In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, US President George H.W. Bush and his Secretary of State James Baker formulated the framework of objectives, and together with the Soviet Union extended a letter of invitation, dated October 30, 1991 to Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians.
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.
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