Egypt called upon to mediate between Syria and Jordan
The Jordanian weekly al-Hadath has quoted Arab diplomatic sources as saying that the Egyptian ambassador in Amman sent a message to the Egyptian Foreign ministry in which he called for making reconciliation between Damascus and Amman.
According to these Arab diplomatic sources, the paper added the message won the great interest of President Mubarak who find "the atmosphere suitable for such a move so as to maintain Arab solidarity to withstand Netanyahu's anti-peace attitude." The paper went on that President Mubarak delegated his Foreign Minister Amr Moussa to "feel the impulse of the Jordanian leadership on the possibility of mediating for reconciliation." It added that during Foreign Minister Moussa's meeting with the Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan, Moussa proposed the Egyptian mediation and the Jordanian crown prince limited his answer by saying "we leave this matter to the assessment of President Mubarak." The paper added that when Moussa moved later to Damascus, he felt Syrian readiness not to obstruct reconciliation with Jordan.
The paper continued that an "operation chamber" was formed at the Egyptian foreign ministry with the task of preparations to provide a success for Jordanian- Syrian reconciliation efforts. The paper added that available information said that a file highlighting security problems was delivered by the Jordanian side to the Egyptian government, whereas Damascus handed over a report to Egypt including "reservations" on Amman's stance.
According to Egyptian sources the "operation chamber" at the Egyptian foreign ministry would draw proposals to eliminate this Jordanian-Syrian crisis. The Arab diplomatic sources expected President Mubarak's first step in the reconciliation efforts is to hold a summit meeting between the Syrian and Jordanian leadership in Cairo. This summit is to be followed by "Syrian-Jordanian security and political meetings under the patronage of Egypt.
The meetings are to be ended in a written agreement which would put an end to years of differences and problems between the two countries," the paper said.
