EGYPT: Egyptian President Mubarak says U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference should lead tangible results towards peace
Record ID:
791556
EGYPT: Egyptian President Mubarak says U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference should lead tangible results towards peace
- Title: EGYPT: Egyptian President Mubarak says U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference should lead tangible results towards peace
- Date: 23rd October 2007
- Summary: WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE WITH MUBARAK AND FISCHER JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK SAYING: "Today we addressed the whole situation in the Middle East, including the coming international meeting to push forward efforts for peace. And it is our point of view that the conference should have tangible results and real forward progress on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis, and should open the door to similar progress on other peace tracks." CAMERAMAN SHOOTING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK SAYING: "I hope that the two sides, the Iraqi side and the Turkish side can sit down together and look for a solution to the recent problem. But I cannot say that we support the Turks bombing Iraq or the Kurdish party bombing Turkey." MUBARAK AND FISCHER SHAKING HANDS AFTER NEWS CONFERENCE AND LEAVING
- Embargoed: 7th November 2007 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA6XCJCKM4TBXUXQJJLGBLVR4O4
- Story Text: Egypt's president said on Monday (October 22) that an upcoming U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference should lead to tangible progress towards peace.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak made the comments after meeting with Austria's President Heinz Fischer in Cairo.
The U.S.-sponsored conference is scheduled to take place this autumn in Annapolis, Maryland, but there is considerable scepticism in the Middle East that it will result in a final peace accord.
Even Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday (October 21) that the conference would not yield a peace breakthrough, comments apparently intended to head off a revolt by rightist coalition partners.
In Cairo on Monday, Mubarak said the conference had to produce real results.
"Today we addressed the whole situation in the Middle East, including the coming international meeting to push forward efforts for peace.
And it is our point of view that the conference should have tangible results and real forward progress on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis, and should open the door to similar progress on other peace tracks," he said.
At the news conference, Mubarak also addressed recent tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, which have led to fears of a Turkish invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan.
"I hope that the two sides, the Iraqi side and the Turkish side can sit down together and look for a solution to the recent problem. But I cannot say that we support the Turks bombing Iraq or the Kurdish party bombing Turkey," he said.
Despite authorisation by the Turkish parliament for military action, the Turkish military has yet to launch large scale operations across the border.
On Monday, Turkish foreign minister Ali Babacan said Turkey will exhaust all diplomatic channels to resolve the crisis before launching any military operation. The comments came amidst U.S. calls for restraint after deadly attacks by PKK militants on Turkish troops over the last few days. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None