The European Union's foreign policy and security chief, Javier Solana, arrived in Egypt Wednesday on the third leg of a Middle East tour aimed at trying to help reduce tension in the region.
Solana, accompanied by EU regional coordinator Miguel Angel Moratinos, came from Tel Aviv, having had talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Tuesday.
"We have come to talk to all the parties to make an evaluation of the situation and try to suggest ways to lower the tension," Solana told a press conference Tuesday following a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Annan arrived in the region Monday night to try to defuse the tensions that have led to some 100 deaths and more than 2,000 people being wounded since violence broke out between Israelis and Palestinians on September 28.
Asked about the prospect of creating an international commission to investigate the violence in Israel, Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Solana said: "At this point, the most important thing for us is that the parties return to the negotiating table."
Solana is to go on to Lebanon and Syria from Egypt - CAIRO (AFP)
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