TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Rice Gains Support From Egypt For Summit

ADVERTISEMENT

By JEFFREY FLEISHMAN, Los Angeles Times

Published: October 17, 2007

CAIRO, Egypt - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received measured support from Egypt on Tuesday for an Israeli-Palestinian peace conference despite widespread doubts in the Middle East that it will result in a lasting deal or improve security in the region.

Rice's trip to Cairo was a diplomatic effort to persuade Arab leaders to attend the Bush administration's summit, which has no date but is expected to take place before year's end in Annapolis, Md. Egypt has been skeptical of the idea for weeks, but after meeting with Rice, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said at a news conference that he backs the plan.

'We are confident because Rice says she is determined, and the president of the United States is determined to have a breakthrough during the remaining year of his administration,' said Aboul Gheit, who recently suggested that the conference be postponed. 'We have to believe them.'

He added that Rice 'has helped us to understand the American objective. She shed a great deal of light on the current American efforts.'

It is not known which Egyptian officials will attend, and Aboul Gheit hinted the timeline could be pushed back if negotiations over the goals of the conference were unresolved. But his qualified endorsement is likely to help Rice when she meets this week with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Cairo and Amman are key U.S. allies; without their support, an Israeli-Palestinian pact would have little chance of succeeding.

Both countries have grown agitated with Washington over the Iraq war, the instability in Lebanon and what they have regarded as the White House's lack of engagement on the Israeli-Palestinian question. They fear that signing onto a peace conference without a guarantee to advance Palestinian hopes for statehood would further hurt their standing in the Arab world.
Palestinians and Israelis have yet to agree on a joint working document for the conference. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wants the summit to resolve statehood, Jewish settlements and other issues tied to the 1993 Oslo Peace Agreement. Israeli President Ehud Olmert has suggested that negotiations on a final agreement be less specific.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT