Cairo, Paris share common views on causes of ME crisis
Egypt-France, Politics, 7/26/2001

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine opened official talks between Egypt and France yesterday.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting Maher strongly denied that President Hosni Mubarak had criticized the recommendations made by the G-8 summit regarding the Middle East at the close of its meeting in Genoa.

He added that the President found the recommendations positive and helpful.

Maher said Egypt and France were committed to regional peace, adding that the European proposal to dispatch observers was an excellent idea, as it would accelerate the implementation of the Mitchell report.

Regarding Israel's insistence that any potential observers must be only Americans, Vedrine said Paris and Cairo agreed that the nationality of the observers was immaterial. "What's important is the presence of neutral observers regardless of their nationality," he said.

Vedrine said the idea of sending observers was gaining momentum every day, indicating that the approval of the two sides was an axiomatic clause and shouldn't be regarded as a precondition, which could delay the whole proposal.

Before the meeting Maher told reporters that Egypt believed peace could not be achieved in the Middle East as long as the hawkish government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon continued its provocative policies. "It has nothing to do with personalities but with the policies adopted by the government," he said.

He added that there was a slim chance for Sharon to reconsider his policies if he only understood that he would never be able to guarantee the security of his people by intimidating the Palestinians.

"It is not possible to accept the policies and orientations of Ariel Sharon but that does not mean severing all contacts with other parties inside Israel whose contribution could be helpful to the cause of peace," Maher said.

Maher asserted that President Hosni Mubarak's recent statement that it was hopeless to make peace with Sharon was a message to the whole world to mind the sensitivity of the situation so as to try to intensify efforts to persuade Israel to show more leniency in the talks.

Maher described his talks with French President Jacques Chirac late on Tuesday as constructive and helpful, adding that Egypt and France shared common views regarding the situation in the Middle East and the causes, which led to the eruption of the current violence. He said that President Hosni Mubarak's message to the French president contained an assessment of the current crisis in the Middle East and proposals on how to handle this sensitive situation in the next stage.

Regarding the ambushes set up by Jewish settlers to Palestinian civilians, Maher said it was not really possible that the Israeli government couldn't do anything about these criminals who not only colonize the land but also kill its owners.

"This is a very dangerous situation and until Israel does something about it, it should be considered an accomplice to these atrocities," he said.

He said Egypt and France were in agreement that international observers must be dispatched to the Palestinian areas to ensure that ceasefire is not violated, adding that Israel's disapproval of this move belied its professed commitment to peace and ceasefire.

Maher also insisted that blaming Arafat alone for the aggravation of the current situation would only give a pretext to hardliners on both sides to carry out more operations.

In pre-departure remarks in Cairo, the foreign minister explained that Egypt was pursuing intensive efforts on the European front to contain the violence sparked by Israel's ultra provocative policies and to muster international support for the Palestinian position against the Israeli bstinence.

Maher said the current diplomatic initiative mobilizes European support cashed in on the outcome of the last meetings of the EU and G-8. The two meetings dealt exhaustively with the alarming deterioration in the Middle East and appeared positively in favour of dispatching international observers to turmoiled areas.

Previous Stories:
  Maher in France for talks with Chirac, Verdrine   (7/25/2001)
  France hails Mubarak efforts to reach a solution to ME crisis   (7/21/2001)
  Egypt's foreign minister confers with French counterpart   (6/5/2001)

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