Al-Ahram Weekly | Egypt

		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 28 Dec. 2000 - 3 Jan. 2001 Issue No.514
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

AMERICAN IDEAS UNDER STUDY: Capping a flurry of week-long consultations among the main players in the Middle East peace process, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to arrive in Egypt today for talks with President Hosni Mubarak. The meeting will take place in the Red Sea resort of Sharm Al-Sheikh. Barak is also expected to visit Jordan for similar consultations with King Abdullah. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who has become a frequent visitor during the past few months, shuttled back to Cairo on Monday to brief Mubarak on the outcome of last week's talks in Washington with the Israelis and Americans. During the 90-minute meeting, Arafat and Mubarak disected the ideas put forward by Clinton to overcome the impasse in peace negotiations. In a phone call later that day, Mubarak spoke with US President Bill Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Palestinians and Israelis were facing a deadline to come to a decision about the American proposals yesterday. "All these ideas are under intensive discussion," Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said, adding that no conclusions had yet been reached. "There is nothing new to report. Considering the seriousness and gravity of the situation, these ideas continue to be under scrutiny."
Moussa suggested that the window of opportunity was still open and could result in progress. "We hope that the chances of keeping this window open outnumber the chances of closing it," he said. "We hope that, within the next few days, we will be able to open this window [further] and that, consequently, there will be a positive development."
Palestinian Ambassador Zohdi Al-Qudra praised the "firm Egyptian position, which always supports the Palestinians' legitimate right to establish their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital, and implement the resolutions of international legality." Al-Qudra said the Egyptian-Palestinian coordination was a "model of inter-Arab relations."
A day earlier, on Sunday, Clinton's ideas were at the centre of talks between Mubarak and US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, who also briefed the president on the latest news from Washington. Kurtzer spoke in detail to Mubarak about the progress and problems in the negotiations as part of ongoing consultations between the US and Egypt and in an attempt to shore up Palestinian support for Clinton's ideas.

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