On Thursday, Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak held talks with European Union (EU) envoy Javier Solana, who is visiting the region to review a Saudi proposal to restart Middle East peace talks.
Solana arrived in the capital city of Cairo on Wednesday from Saudi Arabia, where he held discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to explore the plan floated by the kingdom's de facto ruler to end more than 17-months of Israeli-Palestinian violence, according to Reuters.
The EU envoy earlier said that the Crown Prince had said he was "fully determined to move forward with his ideas" which proposed normalizing Arab relations with Israel in exchange for a full withdrawal from Arab territories captured in the 1967 war.
Solana said he expected Prince Abdullah to begin discussions regarding the proposal with Arab leaders immediately, so that it could be approved at the Arab League Summit due in Beirut on March 27-28 and become an Arab initiative.
Earlier, an EU spokeswoman said Solana would travel to Jordan later on Thursday following his talks with Mubarak and other Egyptian officials.
Meanwhile, President Mubarak said in an interview published in the Al-Akhbar newspaper on Thursday that the initiative underscored the "strategic choice" taken by Arab leaders and announced at a summit in 1996 to make peace with Israel in return for occupied land.
He also stated that it was essential Israel withdraw from occupied Arab land if it wanted peace.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has expressed his readiness to meet Saudi officials over the initiative. However, Mubarak said there was no need for explanations because the proposal was clear-cut. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
