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Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Moussa warns against downplaying ME meet
| CAIRO — Arab League chief Amr Moussa warned yesterday against what he called Israeli attempts to lower expectations and downplay the political meaning of an upcoming US-sponsored conference on Middle East peace. “We must strongly resist attempts to drain the conference of its meaning and to lower expectations, which I see signs of in Israeli statements,” Moussa told the 22-member league. Otherwise, he told Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, there would be “further deterioration in the region.” The Sultanate’s delegation was headed by Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert — who have been at odds over what exactly they want to achieve beforehand — are scheduled to meet several times to find common ground before the summit expected in November. Moussa warned against turning the summit into a “political demonstration without meaning” because “that would be very, very harmful to Arab interests and the regional situation.” The League also called for the inclusion of Syria and Lebanon at the November talks. The League “supports the international conference with the participation of all concerned parties including Syria, Lebanon and (the Palestinians) with the aim of launching direct negotiations... over a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict in a defined timeframe,” the Arab foreign ministers said in a final statement after their talks. On Tuesday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Jordan’s King Abdallah, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema and Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria in a bid to avert what he called “another lost opportunity” at the conference. Earlier yesterday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit met with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Cairo. The Jordanian king also held talks on the Mideast with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, the WAM state news agency reported. The two leaders discussed the Palestinian situation and the international efforts to activate the Middle East peace process, during a brief visit by the King Abdullah to the UAE, the agency said. — AFP/Reuters |
posted by 1000 at 11:00 PM
