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Sunday, November 02, 1997
President Hosni Mubarak said that the Middle East and North Africa MENA IV economic conference in Doha would have "no meaning at all as long as Israel did not respect the peace deals it had signed with the Arabs". In remarks to the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM), the President added that the idea of convening MENA IV conferences, which gather Arabs and Israelis, was adopted by the former Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, to support the Middle East peace process that was picking momentum after signing the Oslo accords and implementing some of the agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. "However, we would wait until the last moment to see the outcome of Monday's Washington meeting between the Palestinians and the Israelis and we hope that the United States and Israel would reach a way to implement the agreements with the Palestinians," President Mubarak said. Moreover, he applauded the efforts exerted and role played by the United States in pushing forward the peace talks saying that Washington, as a peace co-sponsor, was keen on working out a solution to the Middle East problem and he blamed the Israeli government for the current stalemate. "US Secretary Madeleine Albright went to Israel with the land-for-peace formula, which meant that there were American efforts to solve the problem and put the talks back on track," President Mubarak told WAM, adding that Israeli intransigence harms the peace-making process. He warned anew that a halt in the peace process would lead to regional instability and the eruption of violence in Israel, Arab countries and against the States concerned with the peace drive. In the meantime, President Mubarak said that peace was very important for all region even for Israel and its security, and he stressed that there would be no lasting security in the region unless the Middle East problem was solved justly. The Egyptian Leader said that his talks with UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan were very fruitful and useful, adding that they discussed current Arab issues and means to effect Arab solidarity and lift the hardships facing the Iraqi people. Discussions with Sheikh Zayed, he added, included prospects for an Arab Summit and means of cementing Arab ranks. "If there were a need or a problem that necessitated convening an Arab Summit, I believe that there would be no one in Arab Nation who would not attend the Summit," the Egyptian Leader said. "Whenever I meet with Sheikh Zayed, we discuss many issues of concern to the Arab Nation as he is a man, who is keen on achieving Arab solidarity, inter-Arab cooperation and finding solutions to Arab problems and disputes away from outside blocs," President Mubarak said. "Sheikh Zayed believes that if there were a dispute between two Arab parties they should sit together and talk about solving their dispute and if they did not reach a solution, they should resort to the Arab League to settle their problem," he told WAM President Mubarak, who left Abu Dhabi for Kuala Lumpur late last night, held an extended meeting with President Zayed earlier in the day building up on the official talks they had on Friday. |
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