Israeli ambassador in Cairo: Barak needs two weeks to form his government

Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Fathi El-Shazeli convened with Rafi Mazel, Israel's ambassador in Cairo.

After the meeting, Mazel said that Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak "might need one or two weeks to finish forming his new government, after which we hope to revive the peace process."

The Israeli ambassador said, "Barak's visit to Washington after finishing forming his government is for holding discussions regarding methods of pushing forward peace process as well as his visit to Cairo."

The Israeli ambassador denied stopping Egyptian - Israeli communications regarding the peace process, adding that he and the Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv are exerting intensive efforts to communicate with officials in the two governments.