Egyptian President Proposes Sharon-Arafat Summit

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 05, 2002

Egyptian President Proposes Sharon-Arafat Summit

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to visit Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to discuss the Middle East crisis.

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to visit Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to discuss the Middle East crisis.

In an interview with CNN here in Washington, the Egyptian leader said the meeting would not be to end the crisis, "but to give the impression to both parties, to the people on both sides, to the people in the Arab world that there is a window of hope that we have to work with."

Mubarak said he hopes the meeting would allow Sharon and Arafatto discuss points and make the atmosphere between both sides better.

Mubarak said he and Sharon had a long telephone talk during which Sharon had asked him to arrange a secret meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who last month floated his own peace initiative in the Middle East.

"I sent the message to Crown Prince Abdullah," Mubarak said. But he doubted such a meeting would be possible until there was peace in the Middle East.

Mubarak, who arrived in Washington on Saturday, met U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday and will meet President George W. Bush at the White House on Tuesday. He said he hoped a Sharon-Arafat meeting in Egypt could lead to resumed peace negotiations at lower levels.

He said he will formally make his proposal when he meets with Bush and hope the Bush administration would support his idea.

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