A message to Mubarak from king Abdullah

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met yesterday with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb, within the framework of coordinating Arab efforts towards the ongoing Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people and leadership, and intensifying contacts with the international sides to force Israel to end its aggression.

The Jordanian prime minister handed president Mubarak a message of cooperation and understanding from Jordanian monarch ring Abdullah II.

The meeting was attended on the Jordanian side by royal cabinet chief Fayez Tarawna, the monarch's adviser for security affairs Saad Kheir, minister of state for foreign affairs Shaher Bak and the Jordanian ambassador to Egypt Hany al-Mulka.

Prime minister Atef Ebeid and foreign minister Ahmed Maher also attended the meeting.

Abul Ragheb arrived in Cairo earlier in the day on a few hours' visit.

The talks focused on the deteriorating situation in the occupied lands, and the ways and means to support the stance of president Yasser Arafat in his distress, and to implement the UNSC resolutions, foremost of which are resolutions 1402 and 1403 providing for Israeli withdrawal.

Foreign minister Ahmed Maher said on Monday that it is normal, under the present difficult circumstances the Palestinians are going through, for president Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb to meet.

"It was normal that before the arrival of US secretary of state Colin Powell that we sit together and coordinate stances to see what is the best way we can deal with the current' situation," he said.

Speaking after Abul-Ragheb's meeting with president Mubarak, Maher underlined the importance of holding such meetings in order to coordinate efforts exerted for the sake of the Palestinian cause.

He added that important meetings will be held in Cairo and Amman soon.

Maher said Abul Ragheb carried a message from Jordanian king Abdullah II to president Mubarak, adding that it was a message - of cooperation and understanding.

His meeting was good and fruitful and led to the adoption of a united Egyptian Jordanian position, he said.

Abul Ragheb, on his part, said his meeting with Mubarak provided a chance to assess the current situation and the Jordanian and Egyptian efforts with many international sides, especially the US, EU and UN to put into effect un resolutions on the Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian lands.

He added that both Egypt and Jordan are working on turning President George W. Bush's rarest statements to practise steps to guarantee the Israeli withdrawal.

He said the Arab leaders presented a peace initiative at Beirut summit that gave the entire world a message on the Arabs' intention to bring about a just and comprehensive peace.

Abul Ragheb expressed regret that Israeli government has no vision or plan of peace. The US is the sponsor of the Mideast peace and has to bear its responsibility in a way to protect both its interests and that of the Arab states alike, he added.

Abul Ragheb said the peace process is a complicated issue but Powell's tour could succeed if Israel showed some kind of cooperation in this respect.

On what is expected from Powell's tour, he said "we hope Israel would start implementing UN security council resolution 1402 and realise that its military campaign would lead to negative results and will not achieve security."

"The Palestinian cause is a political issue and we should reach a solution that can guarantee the establishment of a Palestinian state with al Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital," he added.