Jordan Times
Friday, March 28, 2008
King, Abbas discuss Arab
summit
JT and agencies
HIS MAJESTY KING Abdullah on Thursday discussed with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas the Mideast peace process and the Arab summit, which will open in
Damascus on Saturday.
Also Thursday, His Majesty discussed with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
developments in the region and issues of mutual concern over phone.
In the meeting with Abbas, the King renewed Jordan’s support for the Palestinian
Authority in its negotiations with Israel, especially regarding its position on
the final status issues, a Royal Court statement said.
He also reiterated a call on Israel to stop unilateral policies and measures
aimed to impose new reality on the ground, especially settlement expansion.
Abbas told reporters after the meeting that discussions with King Abdullah
covered the internal Palestinian situation, including dialogue among Palestinian
powers.
He said they discussed the “summit and the aftermath of the summit”.
Asked about the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and suggestions to revisit it, Abbas
said there is no chance for changing or amending the initiative.
“We should defend the initiative and fight for it because it is valuable and the
other side [Israel] should accept it without any amendments or changes.”
Earlier, Nimr Hammad, an adviser to Abbas, said the Palestinians objected to
withdrawing the Arab initiative.
“We do not support withdrawing the Arab initiative because this would give
Israel excuses and would weaken our position,” Hammad told AFP.
“If this happens, the headlines will say that Arabs refuse peace,” he said.
In Damascus on Thursday, however, Arab foreign ministers agreed to relaunch the
initiative in its current form, despite earlier suggestions by a Syrian minister
that the initiative should be rethought.
“We agreed on maintaining the Arab Peace Initiative and there is no intention on
the ministers’ part to amend it,” Arab League Assistant Secretary General for
Palestinian Affairs Mohammad Sobeih told reporters.
“It was also agreed that the initiative will be relaunched before the
international community in order to stress Arab concern for finding a solution
to the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Sobeih said.
At the opening of the ministerial meeting in Damascus earlier Thursday, Syria’s
Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem hinted at the possibility of reconsidering the
initiative if Israel did not prove its intention to establish peace in the
Middle East.
“We believe in a just and comprehensive peace but Israel, which is supported by
the United States, is still unable to show a political will to create peace,”
Mouallem told delegations of the 22-member Arab League.
“Therefore we support what came out of our meeting in Cairo which is to study
Arab options for the strategy of peace,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Arab foreign ministers meeting in the Egyptian capital
said the “continuation of the Arab side to offer the Arab initiative for peace
will be linked to Israel’s fulfilment of its obligations in the context of
international texts for achieving peace in the region”.
The initiative, first proposed at a Beirut summit in 2002, offers Israel
normalisation of relations and comprehensive peace agreements with Arab
countries in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the occupied
territories.
Syria calls on Saudi Arabia to help on Lebanon
Meanwhile, Syria called on Saudi Arabia Thursday to exercise its influence on
Lebanon’s governing coalition to solve the country’s political crisis, which has
left it without a president since November.
Beirut’s government, which is backed by countries including the United States
and Saudi Arabia, has been locked in a power struggle since November 2006 with
an opposition alliance backed by Syria and led by Hizbollah - a group also
sponsored by Iran.
Simmering tension between Saudi Arabia and Syria over Lebanon has boiled over in
the run-up to the summit.
Mouallem dismissed during the foreign ministers meeting accusations that Syria
was prolonging the deadlock in Beirut.
“The effort has to come from all Arab parties with friendships and influence in
Lebanon. I point especially to Saudi Arabia which wields a big influence on the
[ruling] majority,” Mouallem said.
“Syria wants a stable, sovereign Lebanon. Anyone who thinks otherwise is
mistaken. We are the first to be hurt from a worsening situation in Lebanon and
we will be the first to benefit from stability,” Mouallem said.
Syria supports demands by the Hizbollah-led opposition for veto power in the
Cabinet while Saudi Arabia supports the parliamentary majority led by Saad
Hariri, who has resisted Hizbollah’s demands.
‘Maximum pressure’
The majority coalition in a statement addressed to the summit called on the Arab
states to put pressure on Syria to establish diplomatic ties with Beirut and
abandon its attempts to regain its full control of Lebanon.
“What is required from friendly Arab states that support Lebanon... is to exert
maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to put a stop to its deep-seated greed in
Lebanon and its persistent attempts to restore the time of hegemony,” the
statement in Beirut said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal made a secret visit to Damascus in
late January that failed to reach a deal on Lebanon. Diplomats said Faisal then
urged tough action against Syria during a tour of the United States and Europe
in February.
Saudi Arabia is a main ally of the pro-Western Lebanese government of Prime
Minister Fuad Siniora, which said it would also boycott the meeting because of
Syria’s role in blocking the election of a new Lebanese president.
In addition to addressing the deadlock in Lebanon and Arab Peace Initiative, the
summit is also expected to focus on Iraq.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, attending the foreign ministers’ meeting
in Damascus, said Iraq would ask Arab states to help achieve security and back
its elected government.
“We agree with our Arab brothers on the fundamentals, that Iraq must remain
united and normal life must return,” he said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki cancelled plans to attend the summit because
of a government crackdown against a Shiite militia in southern Iraq.