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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 June 2000 Issue No. 485 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 June 2000 Issue No. 485
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Time for results
By Nevine KhalilUS Secretary of State Madeleine Albright ended her whirlwind tour of the region in Cairo yesterday. Meeting with President Hosni Mubarak, Albright focused mainly on the Palestinian track which faces a 13 November deadline for final status talks.
"We need to make up for the time wasted so far," said Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, not least because Palestinian President Yasser Arafat "is unlikely to accept any postponement" of the November deadline.
Arafat will be in Washington next Wednesday for talks with US President Bill Clinton, and Palestinian-Israeli talks will resume soon. Meanwhile, Washington is working on arranging a three-way summit including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Albright said that Clinton "wants to spend his remaining months in office working on the peace process." Following meetings with Barak and Arafat earlier this week Albright said that "both parties understand that if they want peace they have to make tough decisions."
Moussa described Barak's statements seeking to exclude Jerusalem from upcoming talks on the Palestinian track, as a "very negative negotiating tactic." "He can say anything he wants," Moussa said, "but Jerusalem must be an integral part of a final status agreement". Albright agreed that Jerusalem will be on the agenda of the upcoming talks.
After meeting with Mubarak, Albright went straight into talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa. She did not expect "breakthroughs" or new ideas to relaunch the Syrian track. "We are meeting to take inventory," noted Albright. "I will make it clear that the door is open to move forward on the Syrian track."
The two diplomats have been in regular telephone contact since Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. "Syria has been very cooperative [on the withdrawal]," Albright said. "We hope they continue."
Albright hoped that the Lebanese army would soon take control of its southern territories and that "all foreign [i.e., Syrian] forces would depart."
Moussa, stressed that "the time has come for results... fingers crossed there is a chance for that in the very near future."
