Mubarak hopes serious Camp David talks, just outcome
Palestine-Egypt, Politics, 7/10/2000

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak Sunday voiced hope the upcoming Camp David Summit negotiations would be serious and that any agreement to be reached by the US, Palestinian and Israeli leaders there would be balanced and just.

Speaking to the press after Mubarak's talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said the two sides examined key issues pertaining to the upcoming Camp David Summit and the importance of its success.

The two leaders stressed that the talks at Camp David must reach a just settlement that will take into consideration all issues, particularly that of Jerusalem, a vital matter which cannot be ignored and cannot remain unresolved, Moussa added.

Large strides on the road to Mideast peace have been made, with the restoration of some Palestinian territories and their placement under the Palestinian government, Moussa added.

The Palestinian government has also formulated its position towards the final status talks, he added.

On the other hand, however, "we find that many agreements are not implemented and that the size of the land the pa was to obtain according to the Oslo agreement is now much smaller than what was supposed to be," Moussa expounded.

Israel, Moussa said, must commit itself to the implementation of the many agreements it signed with the Palestinians and the numerous documents, the latest being Sharm el Sheikh I and II.

He questioned whether it would be possible today or within days to agree on a framework for the solution of all issues and whether it would be possible to implement any eventual agreement.

It all depends on the genuine political intentions of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak,Moussa said.

The intense American activity of the past eight years must reach a conclusion, he added. The Camp David Summit is not held in vacuum, but rather on the basis of the serious work of Palestinian and Israeli negotiators on various levels, Moussa said.

A positive outcome is thus likely, but it requires political determination and also, as the UN Secretary General has said, the peace of brave, he added.

It means that all parties should have the courage to lead them to this peace, the Foreign Minister said.

But should fears, excuses and pretexts arise, one would be talking about a totally different story, he added.

However, Moussa said, a final settlement could be reached within the next two months, but at the same time, the political will towards this end, must be present.

The five No's of Barak loom as a dark cloud in the skies of the three-way Camp David Summit, Moussa said. If this is the Israeli position, it would be definitely difficult to reach a solution, he added.

On the Arab, Islamic, Christian and International fronts it is almost impossible to defer the Jerusalem issue, and President Mubarak has insisted on this point today,he said.

No party should use internal problems as a pretext to evade commitments, because all governments have domestic difficulties, Yasser Arafat also has domestic difficulties, Moussa added.

The Americans are seriously trying to reach a balanced peace, a development has taken place in the position as regards in the desire to reach peace, to realize Israeli withdrawals and to establish a Palestinian State, the Foreign Minister said.

Egypt will recognize the Palestinian State the moment it is declared, Moussa concluded.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak meets Arafat and Barak in Alexandria before Camp David summit   (7/8/2000)
  Mubarak meets Arafat and Barak in Alexandria before Camp David summit   (7/8/2000)
  Islamic parliamentary conference: Jerusalem is capital of the Palestinian state   (7/5/2000)
  Islamic parliamentary conference: Jerusalem is capital of the Palestinian state   (7/5/2000)
  Mubarak, Arafat discuss obstacles before negotiations with Israel   (6/26/2000)
  Mubarak, Arafat discuss obstacles before negotiations with Israel   (6/26/2000)

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