Egypt refuses US request to postpone Geneva conference

Sources at the US embassy in Cairo said that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has strongly rejected a request by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to her Egyptian counterpart Amr Moussa for Egypt's intervention with the Palestinians and the Arab League in order to convince them to call for the postponement of the July 15 Geneva Convention conference under the pretext of giving an opportunity to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

The said US sources told the Kuwaiti daily al-Watan that Moussa told Albright on Monday that Egypt cannot interfere to pressure the Palestinians or the Arab League to convince them to ask for the postponement of convening the conference.

Moussa said that this "is purely a Palestinian matter" and that Egypt will take part in this conference at the request and invitation of the UN's Geneva branch, as Egypt is a member of the UN.