Bahrain’s emir on Monday asked US President George W. Bush to do more to help jump-start the Middle East's halted peace talks, according to Reuters.
Sheikh Mohammad bin Mubarak Al Khalifa told reporters the negotiations should resume on the basis of UN resolutions 242 and 338, which call for Israeli withdrawal from land occupied in 1967 in exchange for peace with its neighbors.
The emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa, met on Monday with President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"His Highness called on President Bush to exert extra effort in assisting the parties in the peace process to resume it based on the Madrid principles, which are UN resolutions 242 and 338, and land for peace," the minister said.
Bahrain thinks the Israelis and Palestinians should return to negotiations "within the framework of the agreements reached by the parties," he said.
In the case of Syria, the minister said talks with Israel should resume where they left off last year, and the aim should be Israeli withdrawal to the border as it stood on the eve of 1967 war. Israel rejects both of these proposals.
Powell and Sheikh Hamad had "candid and constructive" talks on Iraq and UN sanctions, he added.
He reiterated the position of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, the regional grouping to which Bahrain belongs, that Iraq should implement UN resolutions and that the United Nations should lift the sanctions.
In a joint press conference, Bush said the emir “has made a big difference in his own country, been on the leading edge of reform, believes in human rights and believes in the full participation of the people of his land.”
For his part, Shiekh Hamad said he was delighted to meet President Bush and was confident the US would do all it could to push for peace in the Middle East, the Gulf Daily News reported.
“Bahrain and the US have strong relations, bound by common interest,” said Bush.
After the talks, attended by top officials on both sides, the emir expressed his satisfaction at the progress of growing relations between the two countries, which he said entailed constant coordination and consultation, said the paper.
“We also discussed development of...cooperation in the field of economics, trade and the military, within the framework of signed agreements between the two countries,” said the emir.
“In the economic area, we have asserted the importance of coordination between countries exporting and importing oil, to achieve a balance and stability in prices, for the sake of the stability of the world economy, for the benefit of all nations and to maintain peace worldwide.”
He said talks also centered on maintaining security in the Gulf region, because of its potential strategic interest to the whole world.
“We have asserted that good neighborly relations between all the countries and their peoples should be maintained, on the basis of joint interests and mutual respect, said the emir.
Sheikh Hamad is the first Gulf state head to hold talks with Bush.
So far, the US president has met with leaders of Egypt and Jordan, in addition to Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh is also due to hold similar talks in the near future - Albawaba.com
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