Starting with the Madrid Peace Conference almost ten years ago, the Arab-Israeli conflict, at the doorstep of a new millennium, entered a new chapter. The end of the Cold War, which was marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the perestroika era, and the 1991 Gulf War resulted in a divided Arab World and a significantly weakened Palestinian leadership. These were also the main reasons that led to the success of the US in convening all parties involved in the Middle East conflict at the Madrid Peace Conference on 30 October 1991. The conference agenda covered a huge array of issues that the US Secretary of State, James Baker, grouped into two categories: the bilateral and the multilateral track. On the bilateral track, the Palestinians, Jordanians and Syrians held direct negotiations with the Israelis, while on the multilateral track, most countries in the region, as well as Europe, Japan, Russia, Canada and the US, participated in a series of meetings aimed at drafting agreements on issues related to regional economic co-operation, environment and water, security and arms control, and the question of refugees.