Mubarak calls for avoiding atacks on innocent Afgan citizens
Egypt-Austria, Politics, 9/27/2001

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday received Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero Waldner. The meeting was attended by Osama AL Baz, the Political Advisor to the President and the Austrian ambassador in Cairo.

Emerging from the meeting, Minister Waldner said all reasons leadings to terrorism should be rooted out, especially with regard to the Middle East conflict.

At a press conference after meeting President Hosni Mubarak, she said President Mubarak briefed her on the years he took to curb terrorism in Egypt and that he warned many western countries of the problem of terrorists who fled Egypt and took refuge in these countries.

She said President Mubarak stressed that the Middle East conflict was one of the reasons leading to terrorism, stressing that if the situation in the region remained unchanged, there would be a great danger to peace and stability in the world.

'Being a pilot himself, President Mubarak believed that those who carried out the September 11 attacks against the US were highly qualified to execute such operations which needed more than tourism information,' Waldner said.

She added that Mubarak was seeking to hold an international conference against terrorism but after the current international moves against terrorism.

She said Mubarak underlined the importance of avoiding attack on innocent civilians in Afghanistan.

"I felt during my visits to Syria, Jordan and Egypt that Arab leaders supported combating terrorism but through different means," Waldner said.

She welcomed the holding of a meeting between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

Waldner said Arafat is prepared to take steps to resume the peace process which is important as it will help fight terrorism.

She said she will contact Arafat to know the outcome of his meeting with Peres, expressing hope that the meeting would lead to more meetings held in other parts world to apply the Mitchell recommendations.

On his part, Osama AL Baz, the Political Advisor to the President said the Austrian Minister briefed the President on the Austrian attitude towards the latest terrorist incidents in the United States.

He stressed the need for not mixing Islam with the latest terrorist incidents.

He said the President spoke about hot problems which remain unresolved adding this would push peoples to feel despair and to get involved in undesirable acts.

He said we do not say that the Middle East is the source of terrorism but we say that keeping some problems unresolved would create a fertile land for terrorist operations.

Previous Stories:
  Grand Imam of al-Azhar receives Austrian foreign minister   (9/26/2001)
  Austria stresses interest in Mubarak's anti-terrorism calls   (9/24/2001)

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