Madrid Peace Conference Opens Under US and Soviet Co-Chairs

The Madrid Conference opened on 30 October 1991, co-chaired by US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Israeli, Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese delegations attended alongside a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, launching direct and multilateral talks. For the first time, the world's major powers jointly convened Israel and its neighbours, turning peace in the Holy Land into an international process.