Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 20, 2002
Mubarak, Bush Mull Mideast Situation over Phone
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday had phone talks with his US counterpart George W. Bush on the volatile Mideast situation, the official MENA news agency reported.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday had phone talks with his US counterpart George W. Bush on the volatile Mideast situation, the official MENA news agency reported.
During the phone conversation, initiated by Bush, Mubarak urged Israel to "respond to resolutions of the international legitimacy and show preparedness to deal with international initiatives in a way that will provide favorable climate for reviving peacemaking."
For his part, Bush stressed the US pursuit of ultimately creating a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel within secure borders.
The two leaders also discussed the Iraqi crisis, but the MENA did not elaborate.
The Mubarak-Bush phone talks came shortly before UN arms inspection chiefs were briefing the UN Security Council on the preliminary assessment of Iraq's hefty declaration about its alleged program of weapons of mass destruction.
UN weapons inspectors resumed searches for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq on Nov. 27 after a four-year break.
Moreover, Iraq presented a massive dossier detailing its programs about weapons of mass destruction to the UN headquarters in New York later on.
Under UN Security Council resolution 1441, Iraq must fully account for its weapons of mass destruction or face "serious consequences."
Arab nations have feared that any war on Iraq would further destabilize the already worsening situation in the Mideast region.