Moussa, Vatican counterpart discuss Mideast peace

Egypt's Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and his counterpart in the Vatican Tuesday discussed the latest developments in the Middle East, especially in light of a new Israeli government, Egyptian Ambassador to the Vatican Farouk Raafat said. Talks also dwelt on present conditions in Iraq in the wake of Friday's US-British strikes on Iraq, he added.

Raafat, who attended the meeting, said the two ministers also probed other issues of mutual interest.

The Vatican's Foreign Minister showed understanding of the Egyptian stance and agreed to the need to re-activate peacemaking, especially in view of the gravity of the situation now in the occupied Palestinian lands because of the incessant Israeli attacks on unarmed Palestinian people.