Moussa: Arabs, shoulder a collective responsibility to ensure the success of Amman summit
Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mousa said that the absence of some Arab leaders from the regular Arab summit in Amman must not reflect optimism or pessimism over the climate of the summit because we all have come to Jordan with the objective to ensure the success of the summit.
In an interview with Jordan News Agency, Petra, he added that serious climates and deep discussions precede the meetings of the summit and make us optimistic of its success.
"We will not achieve everything, but we will start the journey. It is true there are some disputes regarding some issues, but there are no rifts and we must not get carried away," he said.
"We, as Arabs, shoulder a collective responsibility to ensure the success of Amman summit because success is necessary for all of us and as we have reached Amman by a decision taken in Cairo summit, we have gone half the way.
The second half is the success of Amman summit and the launch of the regular summit," Mousa added.
The Egyptian minister rejected the premature "state of pessimism" which "some" are trying to cast over the climate of the summit, voicing confidence in what the summit will achieve. Regarding the Palestinian issue, the peace process and Arab position.
The Egyptian foreign minister said that the Arab position is clear with regard to supporting the Palestinian intifada, providing protection for the Palestinian people and dealing with the new developments on this front. " We, as Arabs, were not embarrassed in dealing with both the intifada and peace. We supported the intifada since it began because it does not challenge Israel within its borders, but because it resulted from frustration that was caused by the failure of the peace march," he added.
As for peace, he said that we want a comprehensive and balanced peace that is based on international legitimacy. In reply to a question on the role of the Arab League in the next stage, he underlined the importance of restructuring the Arab League so to rise up to the aspired for level.