Egyptian - Israeli meeting
Egypt-Israel, Politics, 12/2/1997

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa received today the undersecretary of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Etien Bensor, who is currently in Cairo to deliver a message from Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy to his Egyptian counterpart. The message contained an explanation of the Israeli stance and suggestions which are going to be discussed by the Israeli Cabinet next week.

Answering a question on whether the Israeli delegation briefed the Egyptian officials on specific plans or not, Moussa said that the Israeli side discussed the issue of redeployment in a general way and that the Israeli decision in this regard is still vague. He added that this vagueness will remain till the Israeli cabinet meets.

Moussa clarified that the peace process will not be salvaged with suggestions that do not have enough strength. Those suggestions will not be able to push the process ahead especially in regards to the issues of redeployment, settlement, and the other crucial issues.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister also said that the Israeli government had informed Egypt of its official acceptance of the redeployment plan and the other issues and that Egypt hopes this will not be just promises. Moussa added that the Israeli government is studying the redeployment, which is part of the signed agreements, a fact that shows a positive change as long as the Israeli government continues to deal with the Palestinian side to push the peace process ahead, not through tactics of moving forward and backward.

After the meeting, Bensor stated that his meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister was fruitful and that their discussions tackled the peace process and the bilateral relations.

He added that the Israeli government is going to meet tomorrow and next Sunday so that within 7 to 10 days the details of the Israeli plans will be specified. He said that the guidelines of these plans are agreed upon in Israel but it remains for the details to be discussed and approved.

He expressed his belief that the Israeli decision will push the peace process ahead, especially on the Palestinian track which will pave the way for the final status negotiations.

Previous Stories:
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  Egypt urges Iraq to abide by UN resolutions   (11/29/1997)

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