Egypt supports Syrian stance
Egypt-Syria, Politics, 4/10/2000

Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said that President Mubarak's meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara was important and dealt with various developments on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks.

"They agreed upon bases on which the peace process should continue mainly the principle of land for peace," he added.

"The Egyptian stance, the Syrian stance and the Arab stance are in support of the peace process with the aim of achieving just peace based on the principle of land for peace," he further said, adding that problems are being discussed in order to overcome the present situation of the peace process.

Moussa underlining necessity of reaching an overall and just peace but not at expense of any of the parties involved.

Moussa termed the current stage during which the peace process is passing as very crucial.

"At this stage we must concentrate on the constants of the Arab stance," he said.

"In order that the peace process be rendered successful the process should be balanced and should rest on the United Nations Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 425 as well as on the land-for-peace principle," he emphasized.

Asked on whether Egypt has presented a compromise formula between Syria and Israel regarding Tiberias, Moussa said that it is only the right of Syria to talk about details regarding its stance.

"Egypt does not interfere in details but it supports the Syrian position, which calls for the accurate application of United Nations Security Council resolution 242 and the return to the June 4, 1967 borders," added Moussa.

Moussa termed as inaccurate reports to the effect that differences between Egypt and Syria broke out over the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon at the Arab Foreign Ministers Conference in Lebanon.

"Some paper reports on the issue astounded the Egyptian and Syrian Foreign Ministers," he said, stressing that what happened at the conference was in no way related to these paper reports.

"At no time at the conference differences needed mediation efforts. Reports on differences were bare of truth," he said.

"The Egyptian and Syrian stances are one and as the Syrian Foreign Minister said no one opposes the full and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolution 425. This is the Syrian stance and this is also the Egyptian one," he said.

Moussa underlined that attempts to drive a wedge between Egypt and Syria would never succeed.

He said that Egyptian-Syrian coordination would continue giving the cold shoulder to such reports.

Asked about a possible visit by Israeli Premier Ehud Barak to Egypt in the near future, Moussa answered to the positive, noting that a date has not been fixed yet.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Shara in Egypt   (4/8/2000)
  Al-Shara to visit Cairo next week   (4/6/2000)
  Phone calls between Mubarak and al-Assad   (4/5/2000)

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