Egypt Offers Help but No Pressure in Mideast Peace Talks
Egypt offered Thursday to help Israel reach a peace deal with the Palestinians but said it would not put pressure on Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to make concessions on Jerusalem.
As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak consulted President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Arafat turned up in South Africa to appeal to former President Nelson Mandela to intervene and revive the peace process following the failed Camp David summit.
Barak said Mubarak had proved an “attentive listener” during 90 minutes of talks at a palace near the Mediterranean coast.
But Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said after the talks that his country remained steadfast in its support for Arafat over Jerusalem. The holy city was the main stumbling block at the negotiations last month in Maryland.
“Our assistance is assured . . . but we remain firm that any settlement, in order to last, has to be balanced, it has to be fair,” he told reporters.
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