Arab League: Peace conference should have an int'l sponsor - Haaretz

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Sat., August 11, 2007 Av 27, 5767

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		Arab League chief Amr Moussa. (AP)

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Last update - 15:35 29/07/2007

Arab League: Peace conference should have an int'l sponsor

By the Associated Press

The Arab League chief said Sunday that a Middle East peace conference called for by U.S. President George W. Bush should be sponsored by either the United Nations or the Quartet of Mideast mediators, made up of the UN, United States, European Union, and Russia.

Amr Moussa expressed his opinion a day before Arab foreign ministers were scheduled to meet in Cairo to formulate a response to Bush's proposal.

"We have suggested that the Quartet should take the initiative for an international peace conference, or it should be in the framework of the Security Council," Moussa told reporters.

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The Arab League chief also said the participants at the conference should focus on concrete issues, not content themselves with diplomatic niceties.

"It (the conference) should deal with the establishment of a Palestinian state and not be an occasion for salutes or greets," he added.

On July 16, Bush proposed an international gathering be held later this year aimed at restarting peace talks. The president said his call was a moment of choice in the Middle East, and U.S. officials have expressed hope that moderate Arab countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel would attend, an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia.

Moussa's remarks seem to reflect widespread Arab concern that the conference could generate significant diplomatic fanfare without tangible results. Some Arab commentators have also accused Bush of proposing the meeting to deflect attention from his administration's problems in Iraq.

Besides discussing the potential summit, Arab foreign ministers are also expected to assess Monday the results of last week's talks between Israeli officials and the foreign ministers from Egypt and Jordan.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and his Jordanian counterpart, Abdul-Ilah Khatib, traveled to Israel on behalf of the 22-member Arab League to formally present an Arab peace initiative. The plan was relaunched at an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia in March and envisions full Arab recognition of Israel in return for withdrawal from lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

Aboul Gheit spoke positively of the talks upon his return to Egypt and speculated that other Arab countries may join in future contacts with Israel. "The Arab League will decide its next step during Monday's meeting," he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are scheduled to visit Egypt on Tuesday to rally support for Bush's proposed conference in a meeting with a small group of Arab foreign ministers in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheik.

Washington's close Arab allies have welcomed the Bush proposal, but have stressed the importance of making the Arab peace initiative key to any talks.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who now heads an emergency government based in the West Bank, has welcomed the proposal. Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel and remains isolated in Gaza, has rejected Bush's offer, while Syria has said it may be just words for now.

A 1991 Mideast peace conference in Madrid, sponsored by Bush's father, former president George Bush, paved the way for the Oslo peace accords and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. But repeated stalemates have since left many skeptical that a repeat of that gathering would lead to a major, and enduring, breakthrough.

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1.	More AL procrastination	15:13	\|	David Teich	29/07/07

2.	Concrete Steps	15:19	\|	Kate	29/07/07

3.	Arab peace conferences have no chance before they begin	15:34	\|	Sam	29/07/07

4.	EGYPTIAN STATE-Controlled paper PRAISED TEL AVIV BOMBING	15:47	\|	Linda Rivera	29/07/07

5.	Its almost funny, yet sad	15:59	\|	Headly	29/07/07

6.	The Arab League should better think practically about the best	16:29	\|	Avihu	29/07/07

7.	# 2 Kate, one concrete step......	17:22	\|	Lynn	29/07/07

8.	The Arab League seems to be waking up from a long,very long	17:41	\|	lakshmi	29/07/07

9.	peace talks	19:21	\|	dovid Yanna	29/07/07

10.	The Bush/Saudi fight	19:42	\|	Mark Lincoln	29/07/07

11.	Have you not noticed?	19:45	\|	Mark Lincoln	29/07/07

12.	HOW ABOUT THIS....	19:48	\|	Brant	29/07/07

13.	Arab League -- sponsor your own peace conference	20:43	\|	Gina	29/07/07

14.	Cruicial importance of Peace Now demands the best venue	21:06	\|	Ivar	29/07/07

15.	#1 David Teich makes more errors of fact	04:13	\|	Johnboy	30/07/07

16.	15: Puppy JB continues to lie	13:30	\|	David Teich	30/07/07

17.	#16 David tries his rinky-dink tricks. Again	01:33	\|	Johnboy	31/07/07

18.	International Peace conference	08:21	\|	W.L.Buam	31/07/07

19.	17: Truth is still a "trick" in JB`s eyes... (2nd try)	16:24	\|	David Teich	02/08/07

20.	#19 David Teich speaks Orwellian newspeak	04:22	\|	Johnboy	03/08/07

21.	20: No new thoughts in JB`s head. just more barking, Sad...	20:44	\|	David Teich	03/08/07

22.	#21 David refuses to admit to his words in post #1	15:28	\|	Johnboy	04/08/07

23.	22: ESL, JB, ESL...	16:37	\|	David Teich	05/08/07

24.	#23 David has even lost track of his own posts!	17:21	\|	Johnboy	05/08/07

25.	Please, JB, now you`re just drooling (2nd try)	10:58	\|	David Teich	11/08/07

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