Moussa's speech in Moscow
Egypt-Regional, Politics, 2/7/2000

This is the full text of the speech delivered by Amr Moussa during the Ministerial Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Peace Process Multilateral Track Moscow, February 1st 2000:

Secretary Albright, Foreign Minister Ivanov, Allow me at the outset to express our gratitude to the two cosponsors of the Peace Process for their relentless efforts in supporting the attainment of peace in the Middle East. I also wish to thank the Russian Federation for its initiative in hosting this meeting.

Eight years ago, almost to the day, in January 1992, we met here in Moscow for the first time to launch the Multilateral Track. Unfortunately the Peace Process often faced numerous difficulties and obstacles, which prevented us from achieving many of the goals and objectives we had set out to attain.

Today, we meet again, with a ray of hope and a sense of optimism, however cautious. Many of us consider that all conditions seem to be conducive to reaching positive conclusions in the bilateral negotiations in the not too distant future.

Against this backdrop, we therefore agree to the appropriateness of reinitiating the multilateral track.

This track, complements and supports the bilateral peace talks, and helps build the confidence and trust of the peoples of the region. Hence, movement on regional cooperation issues depends to a large degree on the achievement of real and sustained progress in the bilateral negotiations and on continued existence of a positive and conducive environment in the Peace Process as a whole.

This requires a number of important elements, firstly, the faithful and timely implementation of all agreements. In this regard, we welcome the fact that the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on a framework agreement have been resumed yesterday and that the third pulse of redeployment will be implemented shortly.

Secondly, negotiations between Israel and her partners must proceed in a serious and sustained manner with a view to reaching just and balanced agreements.

We therefore hope that the Syrian-Israeli track will resume soon, and that the negotiations on the Lebanese-Israeli track will also be reinitiated.

Thirdly, it requires that no party take any unilateral step or measure that results in hindering the achievement of progress or that is detrimental to the creation of the desired atmosphere or in exacerbating current problems. In this vein, we call on the government of Israel to reverse her policy on settlements and to freeze it totally.

There must be no more expansion or thickening of settlements or confiscation of land or issuing tenders for new projects. We must avoid the destructive effects of this policy on the entire Peace Process, bilateral as well as multilateral.
Mr. Chairman, Egypt has always been committed to the achievement of comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East.

We have also maintained that the comprehensiveness of peace requires also moving the region towards the direction of normal relations, open borders and free movement of peoples and goods among its states.

In this vein, we have been supportive of regional cooperation efforts and keen on ensuring a positive and conducive environment for this purpose. Let me assure you that our commitment and dedication remain unwavering and that we will spare no effort to achieve this goal on the bilateral as well as the multilateral tracks.

In this respect, we support the resumption of the different working groups of the track on the basis of an agreed timetable. In so doing, we must ensure that this resumption is devised and scheduled in a way that will allow it to contribute effectively to supporting the bilateral negotiations, and will guarantee that it can proceed in a sustainable and fruitful manner.

On the other hand, attention should be given to the group on arms control and regional security. This is a cardinal issue that relates to the core of the future of the region, its security and its stability. No future regional scheme can be complete without a security regime that tackles arms control matters, in particular the establishment of a zone free from all weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

This is a crucial endeavor for which we must start planning as early as now, through - inter alia - the ACRS Working Group. We therefore call, as a matter of urgency, for an agreement on a comprehensive agenda for this group that addresses all arms control issues. We especially call for a leading role by the cosponsors in this direction and for keeping the members of the Steering Group constantly apprised of the situation with a view to formulating the comprehensive agenda in a period that should not exceed three months.

Moreover, we are supportive of the objective of restructuring the multilaterals in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness, as was mentioned by Secretary Albright. In this regard, I will be making some concrete proposals in the next session, dedicated for this purpose.

Mr. Chairman, The Middle East Peace Process is at crossroads. A historical window of opportunity is before us to close, once and for all, the file of Arab-Israeli animosity and confrontation. This goal can, and indeed should, be attained within this year so that we may usher in the new century with the hope and promise of a secure and prosperous future for our coming generations.

The sign posts for a just and lasting peace are quite clear, land for peace, Palestinian statehood and equal security for all. There is no more time to waste.

Previous Stories:
  Cairo: Meetings of the Palestinian refugees' committee tomorrow   (2/5/2000)
  Moussa meets Canada's ambassadors in Middle East   (2/5/2000)
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