Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher stressed on Wednesday that the UN General Assembly sessions in New York will witness intensive talks among the concerned sides on establishing a Palestinian state.
Qouted by the Kuwaiti official news agency (KUNA), Maher said in a speech to the Institute of Mediterranean Research and European Cooperation in Brussels that all but Israel accepts the concept of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
He pointed out that the Euro-Med Foreign Ministers, while concluding their meetings, stressed on the importance of establishing the state in order to reach permanent peace in the region.
Maher added that Israel speaks in a different language every time and evades serious negotiations to reach a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
Egypt is leading Arab efforts to invest the atmosphere emerging after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US.
In their attempts to woo Arabs into an international coalition against terrorism, Washington and London have voiced their support for the establishment of Palestinian statehood through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
However, Maher was quoted by the Cairo-based Al Gomhuria daily on Thursday as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s version of this state is rejected.
Sharon agrees to the principle of a Palestinian state, but wants it on 40-50 percent of the Occupied Territories, demilitarized and with no authority over foreign affairs – Albawaba.com
