Egypt urges US to move for ending deterioration

The Egyptian political delegation started talks with senior officials in the state department following its arrival in Washington yesterday under an assignment from President Mubarak with the aim of breaking the current deadlock in the Middle East.

Egypt urged the US administration to move at highest levels in order to push parties to resume the peace process.

Diplomatic sources in Washington said the message conveyed by the delegation from President Mubarak to the US administration underlines the importance of expanding US role to cover political aspect.

The message also underlines the need for resuming political contacts among the parties concerned.

The Egyptian sources in Washington said Cairo underlined the need for pushing the two sides to carry out Mitchell plan, to cut down violence , to take confidence building measures and to resume negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Meantime, US state department spokesman said Washington was sustaining contacts with Egyptian officials and that Egypt is playing an important role in the process.