Establishment of peace in ME before end of year, difficult but not impossible
Egypt, Politics, 3/20/2000

In exclusive statements to Al-Ahram newspaper, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said a just and comprehensive peace should be a common Arab-Israeli goal that is satisfactory to both sides. He added both Jerusalem and the Golan have Arab and religious significance.

Moussa said the establishment of peace in the Middle East before the end of this year is difficult, but not impossible, given the fact that US President Bill Clinton hopes to solve the Middle East problem before the end of his term.

Moussa described President Mubarak's upcoming visit to the United States as important, terming it as a new step in the context of President Mubarak's endeavors for establishing peace in the Middle East.

Moussa Addresses European Forum

"Europe must no longer consider the Middle East as a crisis zone and must rectify this fixed idea," Moussa said on Saturday.

Addressing the European Forum, held in Venice, Moussa said Europe must also realize that the Arab-Israeli conflict is nearing a breakthrough or its end.

He urged Europe to show interest in the question "what comes after the post-peace era?" "Europe must also show interest in how to build a new region where economic institutions can contribute to set up a Mideast-European cooperation and what are the security bodies which can address the issue of weapons of mass destruction," he said.

"Europe must benefit from the potentialities of the Middle East countries and must draw up with these countries plans for the peace stage," he added.

He further said that there were strong links between the European foreign policy and that of the Euro-Mediterranean one.

Moussa, in his speech at the closed session of the European Forum, said it is important to draw the attention of the EU to the role of the Mediterranean in European decisions related to the southern and northern Mediterranean countries.

In another development, European ministers taking part in the Forum were unanimous on supporting President Mubarak's efforts for achieving peace.

They have expressed their support for President Mubarak's mission to Washington for accelerating the peace process on the various tracks and taking all the relevant steps before the end of President Clinton's presidential term.

More than twenty ministers of foreign affairs, defense and economy have expressed their utmost interest in President Mubarak's efforts for maintaining security and stability in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Meantime, Speaking to Middle East News Agency MENA during a stopover in Paris en route to Los Angeles, Moussa said he would meet with the Congress Foreign Affairs committee, some Jewish lobbyists and associations members as well as the Egyptian community there. Moussa's trip is meant to set the scene for President Hosni Mubarak's coming visit to the US.

Egypt's top diplomat recalled meeting, earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on the sidelines of the Venice Forum. They agreed to meet again during Mubarak's visit to Washington.

On the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations in the US on Tuesday, Moussa asserted that talks marked a very important phase and should be serious and continuous.

"Talks will be preceded by the handover of 6.1 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians," he said.

"Talks would also deal with the final-status issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, borders and water," he added.

Moussa underlined the need to revive talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and highlighted their inseparability. He described as a very important step Israel's readiness to pull out of South Lebanon by July, adding that it should be a full withdrawal carried out in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution No 425 and not a mere troop redeployment.

Previous Stories:
  Moussa in Washington today   (3/17/2000)
  On the meeting between Mubarak and Clinton   (3/16/2000)
  Moussa and the Arab foreign ministers meeting in Beirut   (3/14/2000)

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