Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said Sunday that his country will not invite Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to visit Cairo unless the latter has “serious ideas to support and revitalize the peace process.”
Moussa’s remarks came after a trilateral meeting between him and Jordanian and Palestinian counterparts, according to Asharq Alawsat London-based Arabic daily.
Sharon, who has not contacted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak directly since his election, has sent the president a message conveyed by ambassador to Cairo Zevi Mazeil who handed the letter to assistant foreign minister, Mohammad Orabi.
According to Haaretz on Monday, Sharon sent former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit to Egypt on Sunday with a letter to Mubarak, outlining Sharon's views on the state of the peace process and renewal of negotiations with the Palestinians.
Shavit's close ties with the heads of the Egyptian intelligence services, particularly Omar Sulemein, who holds the Israel portfolio, have prompted prime ministers in the last decade to use him as an emissary to Egypt over the past decade, said the paper.
Sharon’s office refused to comment directly on the Shavit mission, according to Haaretz, saying only that "the prime minister maintains relations with all the central figures in the Arab world and has no intention of reporting on every contact or particular dialogue. Sharon places great importance on Israel's relationship with Egypt.”
Before his election, Sharon had commented that he had no intention to contact Mubarak – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
