- Title: EGYPT: LEADERS CONTINUE TO ARRIVE FOR ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT.
- Date: 1st March 2003
- Summary: SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT (FEBRUARY 28, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) (SHOTLIST AS RECEIVED) 2. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PRINCE MAKTOUM RASHID GETTING OFF THE PLANE AND WALKING ALONG TARMAC SURROUNDED BY BODY GUARDS 3. EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK AND EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AHMED MAHER GREETING PRINCE MAKTOUM RASHID 4. VARIOUS OF ARRIVAL OF KUWAITI FOREIGN MINISTER SABAH EL AKHMED 6. SYRIAN PLANE CARRYING SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD DISEMBARKING THE PLANE, BEING GREETED BY MUBARAK AND MAHER 7. VARIOUS OF ARRIVAL OF YEMENI PRESIDENT ABDULLAH SALEH, SALEH BEING GREETED 8. VARIOUS OF ARRIVAL OF QATARI EMIR KHALIFA BIN HAMAD 9. VARIOUS OF ARRIVAL OF THE KING OF BAHRAIN ASSA BI KHALIFAH 10. VARIOUS OF SHERATON HOTEL, VENUE FOR THE SUMMIT 11. SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD AL FAISAL WALKING IN THE LOBBY TOWARDS THE HALL WHERE EVENING MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE 12. SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FAROUK AL SHARAA IN THE LOBBY OF THE HOTEL 13. (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) FAROUK AL SHARAA SAYING: " No news yet" 14. JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MARWAN AL MASHAR IN THE LOBBY 15. (SOUNDBITE) (ARABIC) MARWAN AL MASHAR SAYING: "The chances of war are still high but what is good about this summit it will come out with a unified Arab stand which is to try and solve this conflict in a peaceful way." 14. VARIOUS PHOTO OP OF THE MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS Initials SHOTLIST AS RECEIVED Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 16th March 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Reuters ID: LVA1NAZKG88SFRQ70Z0Y1G4BLMYL
- Story Text: Arab leaders have began arriving in Egypt to attend the
Arab League summit on Saturday.
Arab leaders joined their foreign ministers in Egypt's
Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks on bridging
long-standing rifts and averting war.
The foreign ministers began their meetings a day ahead of
the summit due to start on Saturday (March 1).
While gaps remained between the 22 Arab League members on
how to tackle the Iraq crisis, ministers meeting on Friday
dismissed U.S. pressure to urge President Saddam Hussein to
resign and said there was broad agreement to search for peace
and not meddle in Iraq's affairs.
Delegates said disputes remained over the wording of a
summit communique on Iraq, particularly on issues like the
rejection of the use of force, the extent of Iraq's
cooperation with the United Nations and whether Arabs should
dispatch envoys to key capitals to explain their views.
But they said any decision would be reached by Arab
consensus, and not under pressure from the United States.
"The chances of war are still high but what is good about
this summit it will come out with a unified Arab stand which
is to try and solve this conflict in a peaceful way,"
Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Al Mashar said.
Iraq's delegation to the summit is headed by
Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan and Izzat Ibrahim, vice
chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, who arrived in
Egypt on Friday.
While Arabs oppose war, there are deep rifts between U.S
allies like Egypt and Arab Gulf states, and states such as
Syria which Washington considers a sponsor of "terrorism".
Several Arab states host U.S. troops and may be
springboards for any war over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass
destruction.
Analysts say they doubt the summit could help prevent war.
They say Arab states lack the leverage to influence either
Iraq or the United States, and that differences between
members are likely to water down any joint statement.
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