Mubarak, Arafat Hold Talks on Palestinian-Israeli NegotiationsEgyptian President Hosni Mubarak began tete-a-tete talks Sunday morning with visiting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the latest developments of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.Arafat, who frequently visits Egypt for Mubarak's advice on the peace process, arrived in Cairo Saturday evening following a three-day visit to the United States. Details of the meeting were not immediately available. But Arafat is expected to brief Mubarak on his talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington last Thursday. Arafat would also discuss with Mubarak the U.S. overture to more actively involve in the coming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, scheduled to start on April 30 in Eilat in southern Israel. The U.S. confirmed on Friday that it was looking to play a more active role in the negotiations. "We would be prepared to play a more involved role at the table with the Palestinians and the Israelis in the coming weeks and months," U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said. Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are discussing the thorniest issues, including the borders, the fate of Jerusalem, refugees and Jewish settlements in their final-status talks. They are working to meet a May deadline for a framework agreement for a permanent peace treaty to be signed in September. |
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