Mitchell in Cairo: Egypt vital to achieving Mideast peace

President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy said Saturday in Cairo that a Palestinian state alongside Israel is the only way to end the Mideast conflict, and stressed that Egypt plays a crucial role in achieving this goal.

George Mitchell met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo after three days of separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Mitchell's repeated declaration that the U.S. would not settle for anything less than the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel was seen as a stern message to Israel's hard-line leaders, who have expressed misgivings about a two-state solution.

"We believe that a comprehensive Middle East peace is not only in the interest of the people of the Middle East, the Palestinians, and Israelis and Egyptians...but it is also in the national interest of the United States and people around the world," Mitchell told reporters Saturday after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

"The president believes, and I believe, that a comprehensive peace in the Middle East will be possible only as a result of the leadership of Egypt, President Mubarak ... and the whole [Egyptian] government," Mitchell added.

Mitchell met on Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who told him the Palestinian people expected the U.S. to press Israel to carry out its diplomatic obligations in regard to the peace process.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Abbas stressed to Mitchell the Palestinian desire to bring a freeze in settlement building and said that Israel if does not accept previously agreed to diplomatic initiatives, it will only serve to strengthen extremists on both sides.

Mitchell's talks in Ramallah came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who opposed Israel's unilateral 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, arguing that it would stoke Hamas hostility - stated he wants talks with the Palestinians to focus on security and economic matters for now, not sovereignty.

In meetings with Israeli leaders on Thursday, Mitchell stressed Obama's commitment to the goal of a two-state solution to end the decades-old conflict.

"That is our objective. That is what we will pursue vigorously in the coming months," Mitchell said.

An Israeli official said Netanyahu also told Mitchell that any negotiations on a two-state accord should be conditioned on the Palestinians recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.