Assad, Mubarak to intensify contacts on French - Egyptian peace initiative
Regional, Politics, 7/29/1998

Political sources in Cairo disclosed on Tuesday that Presidents Hafez al-Assad and Mubarak agreed during their recent meeting in Alexandria to intensify contacts with certain Arab capitals to discuss the French-Egyptian initiative on convening a new international conference to salvage the peace process.

The Lebanese daily al-Kifah al-Arabi quoted the sources as saying that the two presidents also agreed to study the content of the initiative within two months to determine points of agreement or disagreement, define a final position toward it and to win Arab support in case it is approved.

Within this context President Mubarak proposed to President al-Assad the possibility of convening a tripartite Egyptian, Syrian and Saudi summit to be held in Riyadh or Damascus.

On this ground, the sources added, the two presidents asked Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa to hold a meeting with their Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of meetings of the Jerusalem Committee currently being held in Casablanca, giving the foreign ministers an opportunity to consult one another on the date of the tripartite summit, which should come no later than the first half of September.

In another development, the sources added that President al-Assad also approved for President Mubarak to once mediate between Syria and Turkey to peacefully settle disputes between the two states.

The Egyptian President will pay an urgent visit to Ankara in the first week of August to get acquainted with the Turkish position in light of the threats recently launched by the Turkish premier against Syria.

Previous Stories:
  Moussa: Israel does not want a solution   (7/29/1998)
  On the 59th anniversary of ceding Alexandretta   (7/24/1998)
  Khaddam: Syria opposes Arab summit, calls for economic boycott of Israel   (7/14/1998)

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