Cairo seeks to resume leading role in the ME

The British Financial Times daily said that Cairo seeks once again, to resume its leading role in the Middle East region through a peace initiative carried out by President Hosni Mubarak in his visit to Washington.

The paper quoted one European diplomat as saying that the Saudis "took" the peace process and Egypt is trying to get it back, noting that the initiative Mubarak is carrying coincides with the European vision for peace in the Middle East.

The paper indicated that the Saudi and Egyptian initiatives complement each other, as they call for the establishment of the independent Palestinian state and dealing with the issue of the Israeli settlements and the Palestinian refugees.