Israel welcomes Saudi Arabia's planned attendance at peace summit - Haaretz

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Mon., November 26, 2007 Kislev 16, 5768

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		Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal attending a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo on Friday. (Reuters)

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Last update - 01:37 24/11/2007

Israel welcomes Saudi Arabia's planned attendance at peace summit

By Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies

Tags: Annapolis, Saudi Arabia

Israel welcomed a decision by Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Friday to attend the upcoming Middle East peace summit, scheduled to be held in Annapolis, Maryland next week, calling it a positive development.

"We hope this is only the beginning and that we will see greater and broader Arab involvement in the peace process," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "For this process to succeed, both Arabs and Israelis will have to take bold steps."

The U.S. also welcomed the announcement. "We welcome the decision by the Arab League follow-up committee to attend the Annapolis conference at the ministerial level. This is a signal they believe this will be a serious and substantive meeting," said State Department spokesman Karl Duckworth.

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Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal announced on Friday his decision to attend the conference, but insisted he would not allow theatrics like handshakes with Israeli officials, saying the gathering must make serious progress.

"The Arab peace follow-up group has decided to accept the invitation to attend the Annapolis Middle East peace conference at a ministerial level to discuss the peace process," al-Faisal said during a news conference at the end of talks of Arab League foreign ministers to coordinate positions ahead of the summit.

Later asked if Saudi Arabia would attend the Annapolis talks on a ministerial level, Faisal nodded his head.

Participation by al-Faisal was a key goal of the United States to show strong Arab support for the conference, due to be held in Annapolis, Maryland.

Until Friday, the kingdom had balked at saying whether it would attend and at what level, seeking assurances Israel would commit to serious peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Syria: U.S. agrees to put Golan on Annapolis agenda
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Friday that the U.S. has agreed to put the Golan Heights on the Annapolis talks agenda, but that Syria would await confirmation before deciding whether to go.

Moallem said Rice telephoned al-Faisal at the Cairo meeting with confirmation that the Golan would be discussed.

"Syria will wait until it receives the agenda of the conference. President Bashar al-Assad will then decide whether to attend or not, and at what level," Moallem told Syrian television from Cairo.

There was no immediate comment from Washington. Diplomats in the Syrian capital said Moualem's announcement signalled that Syria was going to attend.

"They are clearly going to Annapolis. The delay in publicly saying yes is typical, but Syria knows that it cannot afford except to attend," one European diplomat said.

"Syria is not going to miss an opportunity to state the case for regaining the Golan at such a huge meeting, regardless of the semantics of the schedule," an Arab diplomat said.

Moallem said Thursday that Arab States are demanding the U.S. place talks between Israel and Syria over the Golan on the agenda of the Annapolis summit.

Moallem said the demand was to enable Syria to participate in the conference, speaking at a meeting of Arab States' foreign ministers in Cairo.

According to the Syrian foreign minister, the League sent a letter to Washington requesting the upcoming conference include references to negotiations on the Golan Heights, an area conquered by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War.

Abbas also announced his support for the demand. "The Annapolis conference is a historic opportunity which we want to use, and we hope that all Arabs will walk hand in hand and discuss not just the Palestinian track but the Syrian and Lebanese ones as well," Abbas said.

Earlier Friday, Arab League Secretary General said that Arab countries will not offer Israel normalization for free during the upcoming US-sponsored Mideast peace conference.

Amr Moussa remarks were made shortly after midnight at the end of an informal gathering of some 11 Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo ahead of a key league meeting to hammer out a unified Arab position on the Annapolis conference.

"There is nothing called a normalization for free," Moussa told reporters at the end of the meeting. "Arabs are going to participate in the (Annapolis) meeting, to show support for the Palestinians, based on the Arab peace initiative," he added.

The ministers are calling for the Arab peace initiative, a proposal offering full peace with Israel for a full withdrawal from all territories captured in the 1967 Six Day War, be a basis for the talks.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also said that Annapolis meeting will revive the stalled peace process.

"We, as a Palestinian party, have witnessed a seven year frozen political
process," Erekat said at the end of the meeting. "Now the question is not
whether should we go or not, but the strategic question is how will we go as Arabs?"

"We want peace, but it won't be for whatever price," he added and referred to the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of east Jerusalem and the future of millions of Palestinian refugees as preconditions for peace.

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1.	Saudi thinks its important?	00:09	\|	Rabbi Izzy Lahm	24/11/07

2.	All involved actors should participate	00:35	\|	J	24/11/07

3.	"There is nothing called a normalization for free,"	00:46	\|	Joseph E .	24/11/07

4.	Welcoming the Wahhabhists	01:51	\|	Brod	24/11/07

5.	Not an olive branch, but a fig leaf	02:48	\|	Mark Lincoln	24/11/07

6.	A can of worms	03:50	\|	bruce	24/11/07

7.	Israel should declare it`s preconditions for withdrawal and peace	04:06	\|	bruce	24/11/07

8.	Annapolis - Olmert	04:32	\|	Joel Loe ffelholz	24/11/07

9.	The Annapolis scorecard	05:39	\|	Avrum	24/11/07

10.	The world could care less about Saudi participation	06:58	\|	Marwan مروان خوري	24/11/07

11.	A GLIMMER OF HOPE	07:03	\|	Cipora Julianna Kohn	24/11/07

12.	Cipora is right	07:38	\|	Merle	24/11/07

13.	Saudi Israel Relations - fig leaf dropped	07:57	\|	Cynic #2	24/11/07

14.	The Scorecard	08:22	\|	Palestinian Brit	24/11/07

15.	Israel and Peace	09:24	\|	Khaled	24/11/07

16.	PalBrit	09:44	\|	Israeli	24/11/07

17.	Denormalisation of Egypt treaty with Israel	09:47	\|	Joseph E .	24/11/07

18.	To Syria: "Will you, won`t you, will you, won`t you, won`t you	09:51	\|	Margie in Tel Aviv	24/11/07

19.	THE ARABS HAVE ALREADY TAKEN BOLD STEPS!	10:19	\|	eric	24/11/07

20.	Time to pray for Annapolis and the world	10:44	\|	Ivar	24/11/07

21.	An analysis of Annapolis	11:00	\|	redmike	24/11/07

22.	what are these bold steps ? muslims enter the 21st century?	11:08	\|	victor hardman	24/11/07

23.	Not an olive branch, but a fig leaf- response	11:20	\|	aviram elior	24/11/07

24.	15#	11:38	\|	Teacher	24/11/07

25.	Perhaps Israel can call off it`s Washington Dogs	13:46	\|	El-Birawi	24/11/07

26.	#9 - no, it`s much too simplistic and you are being lazy!	14:16	\|	redmike	24/11/07

27.	#11 - there is no glimmer of hope - please learn!	14:24	\|	redmike	24/11/07

28.	Does Israel also welcome the Saudi peace plan?	14:41	\|	Natallie Durson	24/11/07

29.	#28 - the Saudi`s attendance has to do with Iran	16:49	\|	redmike	24/11/07

30.	Dear Cipora; `G-d help Israel` that is my prayer today.	21:53	\|	Akram Zekaria	25/11/07

31.	#30, Akram	23:36	\|	Cipora Julianna Kohn	25/11/07

32.	Cipora. What risk has to do with it ?	05:45	\|	Akram Zekaria	26/11/07

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