Moussa reiterates need for halting settlement activity
Egypt-Regional, Politics, 11/22/1999

Foreign Minister Amr Moussa on Sunday resumed the talks he started on Saturday with Dr. Nabil Shaath, Palestinian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Moussa commented on Israeli Premier Ehud Barak's call for joint conduct rules between the Israelis and Palestinians during the current negotiations by singling out a stop to Israel's illegal settlement activity as the first such rule.

On his talks today with Shaath, Moussa said they fall within the context of continued consultations between Egypt and the Palestinian authority.

Asked if Israel's purported drive towards peace was compatible with its enlargement of its military arsenal to maintain supremacy over its neighbors, Moussa said it certainly was not, in reference to the discrepancy between what Israel says and does.

Asked if Sudanese President Omar Bashir's visit to Egypt was still forthcoming, Moussa said it was.

On whether he had raised the question of removing land mines from the Egyptian desert during his meeting Sunday with visiting German Defense Minister Rudolph Scharping, Moussa said the issue remains the subject of debate between Egypt and a number of European countries, including Germany.

On his talks in Istanbul during the OSCE summit, Moussa said the issues of terrorism combat and rendering the Middle East a nuclear-free zone were raised and that they would pop up again during the coming meetings between Mediterranean and OSCE countries.

Asked about the recent developments in a Palestinian-Lebanese strife on refugee camps, Shaath lauded President Mubarak's endeavors for defusing the crisis as well as those exerted by other friendly states such as France and the US.

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