Last update - 00:00 12/11/2007
Arab ministers to meet in Cairo ahead of Annapolis conference
By Reuters
Arab foreign ministers will meet in Cairo in the last 10 days of November to decide a common Arab position for the Middle East peace meeting the United States is trying to arrange in Annapolis, Arab officials said on Monday.
Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Chairman Mahmoud Abbas would attend the meeting in person to brief the Arab ministers on the latest developments in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a joint document.
"(The aim) is for all of us to contribute in setting out a common Arab vision and strategy and define the Arab position on the (Annapolis) meeting," he told reporters at the Arab League.
Israel and the Palestinians have been negotiating for weeks on a document which could form the basis of a new peace strategy to be agreed and announced at the Annapolis conference, expected to be held in late November.
Malki blamed Israel for lack of progress on the document. "The obstinate side is Israel. We know that full well. That is our fate, that we have to deal with a totally obstinate position on Israel's side," he said.
"In spite of that, we still insist that we are committed and eager to negotiate and coordinate with the Israeli side so that we can come up with a document acceptable to both sides and so that we can go to Annapolis," he added.
Malki was speaking after talks in Cairo between Abbas and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who also said a ministerial meeting would take place in late November.
Moussa said it was not yet clear whether Israel was serious about making peace at the Annapolis meeting.
Abbas had talks on Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who later saw visiting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Meanwhile, Israel announced it will release 300 to 400 Palestinian prisoners before the Annapolis summit later this month as a good-will gesture to the PA and Abbas.
But this number falls far short of the nearly 2,000 Abbas had requested from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The list will not include prisoners who were involved in killing Israelis, described as having "blood on their hands."
The release of the prisoners will be the only good-will gesture before Annapolis. Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the security chiefs are adamant in their opposition to lifting any roadblocks or checkpoints along roadways in the West Bank, fearing that this would undermine security and make it easier for terrorists to strike.