Egypt pours cold water on talk of 'negotiations'

Cairo, Apr 15: Egypt poured cold water on speculation that an Arab League working group would start negotiations with Israel on a land-for-peace agreement.

An Arab League committee of 13 foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on Wednesday to talk about setting up several working groups to promote the 2002 Arab peace initiative, which offers Israel normal relations in return for land occupied since 1967.

Israeli officials said on Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was considering talks with one of the working groups and that the talks could lead to a breakthrough.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters that one of the working groups might contact the Israelis but he did not expect any negotiations.

''These groups are not mandated to negotiate and I do not imagine that they will negotiate on behalf of anyone, whether the Palestinians, Syria or Lebanon,'' he said yesterday.

The mission of the working groups would be to ''lay out the political idea behind the Arab effort and explain what is meant by land for peace'', the minister added.

The essence of the Arab plan is that all Arab states would open relations if Israel withdrew to the borders as they stood before the 1967 war, allowed a Palestinian state and reached an acceptable solution for Palestinian refugees.

In another blow to US hopes that the Arab peace plan would lead to early contacts between Israel and more Arab governments, Aboul Gheit said ''I imagine that this group which talks with Israel will be from countries which have diplomatic relations with Israel, one country or more and not necessarily Egypt.'' Out of the 13 governments on the committee, only Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestine Authority have regular public meetings with Israeli officials.

Aboul Gheit said Arab countries which do not have demands on Israel would not make gestures towards Israel until the land-for-peace deal has taken effect. He was referring to countries which do not have land under Israeli control, such as the Gulf states and those in North Africa.

''Before that (land-for-peace) happens, there is no logic for Arab normalisation towards Israel. That's not on the table and I very much doubt the Arab parties would accept that,'' he added.

Reuters