UN to discuss Arab-Israeli peace on Sept 23 -Saudi

RIYADH, Sept 4 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said today the UN Security Council would meet later this month to discuss an Arab proposal to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process and urged the world community to help.

''I believe the date set is September 23 to discuss it (the Arab request) at the Security Council,'' Prince Saud al-Faisal told a joint news conference with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

The 22-nation Arab League has formally asked the UN Security Council to acknowledge that efforts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict have failed and to revive and reshape the peace process.

''We hope that all would look at the issue from a new perspective, the perspective of the importance of resolving this issue for the stability of the region ... it is a pivotal issue,'' he said.

The Arab League said the plan for ending the conflict should be based on past U.N. resolutions as well as on the basis of land for peace, and through establishment of effective and specific mechanisms for the swift resumption of direct talks.

The group wants the Security Council to supervise negotiations and set a target date for their completion.

''This would have a positive impact on all of the issues that the United Nations and the world community are trying to resolve in this region,'' Faisal said. ''I do not see any obstacles for debating it but if you ask me about what it can reach then that is a different issue.'' Annan has said the Arab League has called on the council to formally recognise ''the need to reactivate the West Asia peace process and establish a mechanism for us to proceed on all tracks'' -- in the Palestinian territories, Syria and Lebanon.

The League called on foreign ministers from the council's 15 members to meet this month in New York to discuss its plea. It was not immediately clear if the September. 23 meeting would be at ministerial level.

The US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton has said not every country in the region supported the Arab League idea, and he wanted to know whether Israel would be invited to the proposed ministerial meeting.

REUTERS DH PM0107