ITALY: Middle East peace on agenda as Egyptian and Italian foreign ministers meet in Rome

Record ID: 644664

  • Title: ITALY: Middle East peace on agenda as Egyptian and Italian foreign ministers meet in Rome
  • Date: 18th May 2011
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (MAY 17, 2011) (REUTERS) ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANCO FRATTINI AND EGYPTIAN INTERIM FOREIGN MINISTER NABIL AL-ARABI SHAKING HANDS AFTER SIGNING AN AGREEMENT ON DEBT SWAP VARIOUS OF FRATTINI AND AL RABI SITTING DOWN FOR TALKS FRATTINI AND AL-ARABI ENTERING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE PRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, NABIL AL-ARABI, SAYING: "The declaration of independence of Israel, we recognise that. Egypt recognises Israel, we have a peace treaty with Israel. But the declaration of independence of Israel will never be complemented unless there is another declaration for the independence of Palestine." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANCO FRATTINI, SAYING: "We don't know where (Muammar) Gaddafi is. This is the truth. We had some speculations, we heard some rumours about Gaddafi leaving Tripoli, taking refuge outside of the city but we had no confirmations at all. That said, what is important to say is the keeping of the international pressure over the regime, you know that there was today a further defection from the regime, the minister of oil, Minister (Shukri) Ghanem, he was a quite well known personality in the regime." DELEGATES (SOUNDBITE) (English) ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANCO FRATTINI, SAYING: "It seems to me not very likely to happen that Saif al Islam negotiates a solution for the succession to his father (Gaddafi), especially after the issuing of the arrest warrant by the prosecutor. We are waiting for the confirmation by the court but of course the simple fact that the prosecutor proposed the arrest warrant against colonel Gaddafi, his son Saif al Islam and the chief of security services makes the idea of secret negotiations even less likely to happen, but we have no confirmations at all." POLICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER NABIL AL-ARABI, ASKED IF IMPROVED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EGYPT AND HAMAS CAN LEAD TO THE FREEING OF CAPTIVE ISRAELI SOLDIER GILAD SHALIT, SAYING: "The best conditions to get the release of someone who is imprisoned is to have confidence in both sides, that is to exchange prisoners. I am not involved, but if you ask me for a prescription I'd say: exchange prisoners." FRATTINI AND AL-ARABI SHAKING HANDS
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy, Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAB4LF36IDJJV4QIIX9IX5465UI
  • Story Text: Egyptian interim Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi met with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Tuesday (May 17) to sign an agreement on debt swaps and to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
    Al-Arabi, who was voted into the position of Secretary-General of the Arab league on Sunday, was asked about his reaction to violence which broke out over the weekend as Palestinians marked 'Nakba', the day of Israel's founding in 1948.
    "The declaration of independence of Israel, we recognise that. Egypt recognises Israel, we have a peace treaty with Israel," al-Arabi said at a joint news conference in Rome.
    "But the declaration of independence of Israel will never be complemented unless there is another declaration for the independence of Palestine," he said.
    The situation in Libya was also discussed. Late last week Frattini had fuelled rumours by suggesting that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may have been injured during Nato strikes on the country.
    "We don't know where (Muammar) Gaddafi is. This is the truth," Frattini said.
    'We had some speculations, we heard some rumours about Gaddafi leaving Tripoli, taking refuge outside of the city but we had no confirmations at all," Frattini said.
    He also commented on the apparent defection of Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC).
    "You know that there was today a further defection from the regime, the minister of oil, Mister (Shukri) Ghanem, he was a quite well known personality in the regime," he said.
    Asked if he believed that Gaddafi's son Saif al Islam was negotiating with rebels, Frattini replied: "It seems to me not very likely to happen that Saif al Islam negotiates a solution for the succession to his father (Gaddafi), especially after the issuing of the arrest warrant by the prosecutor."
    "We are waiting for the confirmation by the court but of course the simple fact that the prosecutor proposed the arrest warrant against Colonel Gaddafi, his son Saif al Islam and the chief of security services makes the idea of secret negotiations even less likely to happen, but we have no confirmations at all," he said.
    Al-Arabi was asked whether the new Egyptian regime could speed up any possible release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
    The Egyptian foreign minister said he was not personally involved in negotiations but added: "The best conditions to get the release of someone who is imprisoned is to have confidence in both sides, that is to exchange prisoners. I am not involved, but if you ask me for a prescription I'd say: exchange prisoners," he said.
    Shalit was captured in 2006 by Hamas in a cross-border raid. Hamas is asking for the release of all female and under age prisoners in exchange for his release.
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