Jordan Times
Monday, November 12, 2007
King meets Arab leaders
AMMAN (Agencies) - His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday met Arab leaders
gathering in Cairo to attend the 11th Pan-Arab Games.
The leaders included Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his Sudanese, Iraqi
and Palestinian counterparts Omar Bashir, Jalal Talbani and Mahmoud Abbas,
respectively, in addition to Bahraini Crown Prince Sheikh Salman Ben Hamad Al
Khalifa and their host Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The King arrived in Cairo for a several-hour visit, accompanied by Abbas.
Around 7,000 athletes from 22 Arab countries, including Jordan, are competing in
the Games.
Earlier Sunday, President Mubarak hosted a summit with his counterparts from
Iraq, Sudan and Yemen to discuss Middle East developments and the upcoming peace
meeting.
Mubarak held a working lunch with Talabani, Bashir and Saleh, the Egyptian
presidency said.
Also yesterday, visiting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was
due to meet with Abbas in Cairo, and with Egyptian officials on Monday.
Mubarak on Saturday also met King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Saleh as part of
“his continuing efforts aimed at unifying Arab ranks”, presidential spokesman
Suleiman Awad was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency.
The US-sponsored international conference aims to end the seven-year hiatus in
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
But Arab leaders have warned the meeting will be a waste of time unless it
addresses the core issues of the conflict. Washington has yet to set a formal
date for the conference expected to take place in Annapolis, Maryland.
“The hope is that the Annapolis meeting comes out with tangible results which
will pave the way for other tracks in the peace process,” said Awad.
The results would lead to bringing up the question of the occupied lands in the
Syrian Golan and also facilitate peace between Israel and Syria and Lebanon,
Mubarak’s spokesman added.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday it was likely that Syria
would be invited to the conference.
“This meeting is about Israel and the Palestinians. But we understand that
ultimately there has to be a comprehensive agreement and there has to be
progress on the other tracks as well,” she told ABC television.