Prodi heads to Eygpt, Italy joins push for peace

Italian Premier Romano Prodi is heading to Cairo on Monday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarark as Italy pushes for a European peace plan for the Middle East.

Prodi is scheduled to arrive in Cairo in the early evening. The two men are scheduled to hold a joint news conference after their talks, aides to Prodi said. The Italian premier will meet with the Egyptian prime minister on Tuesday.

Last week, France, Italy and Spain presented a Middle East peace initiative,asserting that Europe must move to the forefront of efforts to try to end years of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed.

Also last week, Prodi's office revealed that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had written to the Italian premier saying that his country is ready to consult with Rome on Middle East issues.

The United States has said it is willing to hold direct talks with Iran about Iraq - which would be the most public exchange between the countries in years. But the United States does not want to discuss broader subjects such as the nuclear program, which Washington suspects is aimed at making weapons, unless Iran first verifiably stops its uranium enrichment program

In an interview published Sunday in the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, Prodi said of the Middle East peace efforts, "We must get dialogue going again, and help,also with the contribution of other Arab countries, the Palestinian president to forge a government of national unity."

Asked about Iran's nuclear program, Prodi replied: "The recipe is to have dialogue, dialogue and more dialogue. Recourse to possible military means is unthinkable,sanctions risk unleashing an uncontrollable spiral."

Italy is Tehran's leading trading partner in the European Union.