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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Islamabad talks signal emergence of new four-nation bloc in Middle East

The four ministers stand in a row in front of their countries' flags
The meeting of foreign ministers (from left): Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan, Pakistan's Ishaq Dar and Turkey's Hakan Fidan. Photograph: Pakistan foreign ministry/AFP/Getty Images

The meeting on Sunday of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Islamabad not only represented the best hope for a ceasefire in Iran but was also the embryo for a new order designed to curb Israeli and Iranian dominance after the war.

Although the four nations have met as a quartet before, the one-day meeting of foreign ministers in Islamabad on Sunday was, in a way, the official opening ceremony of an initiative that is intriguing diplomats.

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