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Egyptian, US Presidents Discuss Mideast Situation By Phone
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday talked with US President George W. Bush by phone on the latest situation in the Middle East and US efforts to contain tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis.
During the phone conversation initiated by Bush, the two leaders also discussed the current contacts between the Palestinians and Israelis aimed at fully implementing a U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan, the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
The two presidents agreed that it is important to exert utmost efforts to achieve "positive and sincere results" from the Palestinian-Israeli truce in order to ensure the legitimate rights of the parties concerned and realize security and stability in the region.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to start his Mideast trip next week to "boost efforts meant for peace to prevail," Bush told Mubarak, quoted by the MENA.
For his part, Mubarak reaffirmed that any agreement has to ensure the rights and legitimate demands of the Palestinians.
The White House said late Wednesday that Powell's Mideast tour is aimed to consolidate the ceasefire between the Palestinians and Israelis, which went into effect last Wednesday.
Despite the week-old truce, sporadic shootings and confrontations between the two sides have never stopped. The two sides are accusing each other of failing to stick to the agreed terms.
Over 600 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli bloodshed sparked by Israeli violation of an Islamic holy shrine in East Jerusalem last September.
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