Egypt, Germany Hope for Avoiding Iraqi War

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, January 26, 2003

Egypt, Germany Hope for Avoiding Iraqi War

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Egypt and Germany on Saturday expressed hope for avoiding a possible US-led war on Iraq. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher made the remarks to reporters after a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and visiting German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

"Both countries have been cooperating and will continue to cooperate in order to try to avoid a war on Iraq," Maher told reporters.

"Nothing is inevitable," Maher said, adding as long as the Iraqi people of good will try to find a peaceful solution, they have a full chance to move toward the right direction.

"The desire of the whole world is to find a peaceful solution. Nobody will go to war with pleasure," he stressed, adding "so I believe that there is always a chance to avoid a war. We are trying to enhance this chance, and our cooperation with our friends in Germany and France, in Europe, in the United States also, is a way to make war evitable."

Asked by Xinhua about whether Mubarak has contacts with his US counterpart George W. Bush to convince him not to launch a war on Iraq, Maher said, "President Mubarak is exerting efforts in all directions with all the people involved in order to ensure that a peaceful solution is found in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and the international legitimacy."

"That is obligations are on all parties to try all the ways and means to solve the problem peacefully, and President Mubarak is urging them all to take this path, because the contrary path meaning military operations will have negative effect on everybody," he said.

"Nobody would like to go to war, and we are sure of that, and everyone wants to avoid a war, and we are helping with our friends in this regard," he said.

Fischer arrived here Friday evening as part of his Mideast tour,which has taken him to Turkey and will also take him to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, in an effort to avoid the Iraqi war.

Asked about whether he believes the Iraqi war is unavoidable, Fischer said, "It is not the question of belief. The situation is serious. We are working very hard for the implementation of disarming Iraq on one hand and avoiding military reaction on the other hand."

"Let's look for the fact that (chief inspector) Han Blix will present facts on Monday (Jan. 27) in the Security Council. We will have to wait and listen, and then they (Security Council members) will debate in the Security Council," the German foreign minister said.

The United States, which accuses Iraq of secretly developing and hiding weapons of mass destruction, is stepping up preparations for a possible war on Iraq.

Arab countries call for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi standoff and warn against negative repercussions of any war on Iraq. On Thursday, Egypt took part in a Turkey-initiated six-way summit in Istanbul, which approved a joint declaration urging Iraq to show "more active" cooperation with UN arms inspectors to shun the war.

German has joined forces with France in countering US threats ofwar against Iraq by together pushing for a peaceful solution to the crisis during a ceremony marking 40 years of reconciliation between the once-hostile nations.

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