Egypt denies getting missiles deal from North Korea

The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher denied allegations that Egypt got missiles from North Korea. Maher described such allegations as groundless.

Asked about the situation in the Middle East, Maher voiced belief that Palestinian-Israeli negotiations should be resumed from the point they left off and not from square one.

He called on Israel to lift the siege imposed on Palestinian territories and ease restrictions on the Palestinians' movement as well as shifting from the security domain to the political one for the ceasefire to hold on.

He said Egypt is the first leg of US Secretary of State Colin Powell's coming regional tour.

He said the US side shows readiness to discuss Egypt's ideas on the importance of carrying out quickly the political side of the Mitchell recommendations and lay down a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement reached between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

Maher said Egypt welcomes the activation of the US role in the region as it is a main partner in the peace process.

He denied that the UN and European Union could replace the US role in the region.

"This is not the point. What we want is to join all efforts to realize the long-hoped-for peace in the region," Maher added.