Mideast summit switches focus to Iraq
World leaders meeting in Egypt focused on Israel, the Palestinians and what is seen as a chance to jump start the stalled peace process today, with plans to shift the focus to another Mideast hotspot – Iraq – later in the day.
The quartet of sponsors of an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan took the opportunity of an international conference on Iraq for an informal breakfast meeting on their plan, known as the road map.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell went into the breakfast a day after talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Powell, who is on one of his last trips as secretary of state, assured Israeli and Palestinian leaders that newly re-elected US President George Bush is intent on moving “forward on the path of peace, to take advantage of the new opportunities that are before us.”
The November 11 death Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has changed the landscape.
Israel and the US had refused to talk to Arafat, branding him an unacceptable negotiating partner because of what they said was his support of terror.
The Palestinians are preparing for a January 9 vote to choose Arafat’s replacement.
Yesterday, Israeli leaders assured Powell that they will ease travel restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and take other steps to facilitate voting.
On Iraq, the gathering of 20 nations, including many opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq, represented hard-won acknowledgement of the need for international cooperation to deal with the consequences of the war.
While sharp differences remaining on how to proceed, the 20 nations have committed themselves to supporting the US-backed Iraqi interim government and have already finalised a draft communiqué.
In it, they gave strong backing to the Iraqi government’s war against insurgents. They did not set a deadline for withdrawing US-led forces from Iraq - despite a push by France and some Arab countries.
The draft communiqué for the conference that began yesterday and ends today also says the interim Iraqi government should meet its opponents to try to persuade them to take part in the general elections scheduled for January 30.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said late yesterday that the communiqué, “which has been the result of the agreements between all the parties and without confrontations”, has been endorsed and will be read Tuesday.
The meeting brought together Iraq’s six neighbours – Iran, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia – as well as Egypt and several other Arab countries, China and regional bodies such as the Group of Eight, the United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
