Al-Bayan: A five - member Arab summit expected very soon

The United Arab Emirates UAE daily al-Bayan quoted Egyptian diplomatic sources as saying that there is an intention to convene a five- member Arab summit including Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and a representative for the Palestinian Authority in order to discuss the Arab position concerning the announcement made by the US President George Bush regarding the peace process and also his demand to alienate the Palestinian leadership.

The paper indicated quoting the same sources that the time of the summit or its venue will be set in light of the results of contacts to be held with Washington in order to explore certain "vague" points in Bush's announcement, noting that there are two proposals. The first is to convene the summit before the tour of the US Secretary of State Collin Powell to the region and the second is to convene this summit after Powell's tour so as to assess results of his tour and talks.