Mubarak receives Annan

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak received Wednesday morning UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is currently on a tour of the region.

Annan's talks in Egypt will focus on means to fasten ceasefire between the Palestinians and the Israelis in order to resume negotiations.

The Mubarak-Annan meeting is part of the extensive contacts being made by President Mubarak at both the Arab and international levels to avoid further escalation in the region as well as to end the violence and alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinians.

Annan arrived in Cairo Tuesday on a two-day visit for talks with Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

The UN Secretary-General's tour will take him to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Israel.

Following his meeting with President Mubarak, Annan told reporters that they had talks on the Middle East crisis, the sanctions imposed on Iraq in addition to other issues of interest to Egypt and the UN.

Asked whether there was any international guarantees to get Israel respond positively to current international efforts, Annan said that all efforts at the present stage were mobilised to stop acts of violence and to lift the siege imposed on the Palestinians.

He described his talks with President Mubarak as very good. In reply to a question on whether there were any UN plans to reconsider the issue of international protection for the Palestinians, Annan said this issue was not on the Security Council's agenda at the moment adding that he believes the Council would not reopen discussion on the matter.

Commenting on economic sanctions imposed on Iraq, the UN Secretary-General said that the Security Council will make a final decision by the end of this month and expressed belief that the sanctions would not be eased.