Mubarak and Rice discuss peace proposal
Egypt-USA, Politics, 3/26/2007

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak discussed at his meeting in Aswan yesterday with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the situation in the region, with main emphasis on the Palestinian cause and the future of the peace process.

During the meeting, Rice explained the US vision of cooperation with the Palestinian and Israeli sides to reactivate the peace process.

The meeting also tackled the situation in Iraq, Darfur issue, the Lebanese issue, the Iranian nuclear file, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

Meantime, Foreign Minster Ahmed Abul-Gheit yesterday said Egypt is supporting US efforts for reviving the Middle East peace process.

At a joint press conference with Rice, Abul-Gheit said that Rice explained, at her meeting with President Mubarak, the US's approach towards dealing with the Palestinian and Israeli sides along with the mission of the international Quartet.

Abul-Gheit expressed hope that the US would succeed in attaining a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process.

Egypt asserts that there is now a Palestinian government and authority that should be supported in a bid to pave the way for a viable peace process in the region, he said.

For her part, Rice described her meeting with President Mubarak as positive and good with the two sides probing means of creating a more stable and secure Middle East.

Rice praised Egyptian efforts for moving ahead in the Middle East peace process in order to set up a Palestinian state that can live side by side with Israel.

Talks with President Mubarak, she added, also dealt with Egypt's internal reforms.

Concerning President George W. Bush's Mideast policy, Rice said the American President, has, since assuming power, faced some very critical situations in this region. He worked diligently since then to lay down better bases for the peace process, she added.

Bush is also the only American president who called for the necessity of solving the issue of the two states, a Palestinian and an Israeli, she said.

Meantime, Abul Gheit said the next phase will be a practical one, for settlement efforts and for ways of proceeding forward to reach the two-state goal.

On a Saudi supporting role to Egypt's role in solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, Rice said all are welcome to solve the conflict, Egypt is a pioneering state in searching for peace and its leaders have taken risks towards this end.

Egypt plays a principal role in the region's peace process, she added.

Saudi King Abdullah has adopted since the Arab initiative was launched, the viewpoint of Arab-Israeli reconciliation, and this is a key step, she said.

There was talk about how Arabs could encourage peace between Israelis and Palestinians so as to put an end to the crisis and establish a state for Palestinians, Rice added.

She noted that they were working together to see what could be done at this difficult time to solve the issue, adding that the Palestinian people had suffered for long, longing for an independent state.

Israelis too have struggled to guarantee their security and safety, and now, all must encourage a solution for the establishment of the two states and all countries must consider what each can do to encourage the peace process, she said.

Abul-Gheit, on his part, said the Middle East and the region's development efforts should not be limited to one state, as stated by Rice.

Egypt is a central state and has shouldered its responsibility throughout the long decades of the Arab-Israeli conflict, today there is more than one Arab power willing to contribute to peace, and this is a collective responsibility, he added.

The Arab world is not Egypt, but a group of Arab states working together to attain the goal of bringing peace to the region, he said.

The responsibility for peace is to be shouldered by all, and whoever can do such effort, must be supported, he added.

Rice said the US did not propose any amendment to the Arab peace initiative. It is an Arab initiative and Arabs have the right to raise it the way they want, she added.

She expressed hope for finding a way for diplomatic efforts to activate the two-state solution, stressing the importance of the Arab role in pushing the peace process forward.

Arab diplomatic action should be activated to make use of the Arab initiative, and it is not the US's business to amend the initiative, she said.

Abul-Gheit said Egypt is committed to the Arab initiative and hopes the Israeli side would deal with it positively.

The initiative provides a tool to start the negotiations, to reach peace there must be negotiations because there are many issues that would lead to the very core of the initiative, namely land for peace, he added.

In Monday's referendum on the constitutional amendments, Rice said "We have had a discussion, I have made my concerns known as well as my hopes for continued reform in Egypt."

"The process of reform is one that is difficult, It's going to have its ups and downs. We always discuss these matters in a way that is respectful, mutually respectful. But I have made my concerns known, and we have had a good discussion," she added.

Abul-Gheit, commenting, said one must admit that Egypt had been the target of serious terror operations throughout the past 80 years.

Since the end of World War II, radical and extremist groups have surfaced on Egypt's soil seeking to shake the society's political, economic and social foundations, he added.

And Egypt has stood firm, all along those years, to protect the domestic peace and realize stability for the society, he said.

Egypt is a central state in the region, and when it shakes, the whole region shakes, he said, stressing that stabilizing and securing Egypt's democratic front and realizing economic and social progress through the power of the law has its positive impact on the policies of the region.

From here, Egypt holds on to all laws that allow it to achieve its security, and thus, the security of the region, he added.

Previous Stories:
  US views on political development in Egypt   (3/20/2007)
  US supports Egypt's peaceful nuclear program   (2/4/2007)
  Mubarak receives phone call from Bush on peace process, Iraq   (1/13/2007)

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