Mubarak, Barak Talk on Mideast PeaceEgyptian President Hosni Mubarak met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for discussions on the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks on the eve of a three-way summit in the United States.Barak arrived earlier at Cairo International Airport, where he was greeted by his Egyptian counterpart Atef Obeid, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency said. Barak went into one-on-one talks with Mubarak at a presidential palace in northern Cairo shortly after arrival. Details of the talks were not immediately available. But diplomats in Cairo expected that Barak would expound Israel's positions on the final status talks with the Palestinians, which have made little progress. Barak would return to Israel after the meeting to be present at the parliament, which will vote later in the day on two censure motions including one against his plans to attend the summit. Despite the political turmoil at home, Barak insists on flying on to the U.S. for Tuesday's summit with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton at Camp David near Washington. The summit is designed to seek a final peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israel before the self-imposed mid- September deadline. |
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