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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Senator on tour
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak met on Sunday with US Senator Arlen Specter, who is currently on a regional tour which includes Palestinian self-rule areas and Israel.Mubarak met Specter, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee -- which must approve the administration's proposals on foreign aid -- and chairman of the Veteran Affairs Committee, at his private residence in Borg Al-Arab near Alexandria. The senator, making his 14th trip to Egypt since his election to the Senate in 1981, told reporters after the meeting that he discussed with President Mubarak Egyptian-US relations, Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, attempts to revive talks between Syria and Israel, Iraq, Iran and joint efforts to combat terrorism.
"President Mubarak and I talked about the [Palestinian-Israeli] negotiations and what appears to be the willingness of the parties to try to bring those discussions to a close," he said. Specter added that both Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak were keen on reaching an agreement, but that there were problems which they had to surmount, such as the release of Palestinian prisoners and combating terrorism.
President Mubarak meets with
US Senator Specter
"The problem is that you cannot combat terrorism unless you move to a solution to the underlying problems. I think that is what is motivating Prime Minister Barak to try to have a settlement with the Palestinians," Specter said.
On Syria, the US senator said he expressed to Mubarak his view "that there had always been an underlying sense that Israel would return the Golan to Syria. But I emphasised that this is something that only Israel can decide for itself... That would have to be conditioned on a full peace, open borders, security arrangements and early warning, water, and all the rest of the conditions. But, candidly, if Israel is not prepared to give back the Golan, then, I think the parties would be spinning their wheels: they are not going to have an agreement unless that is going to be part of an agreement."
