March 6, 2002
Mubarak, on Visit to U.S., Urges Meeting of Mideast Rivals
By TODD S. PURDUM
WASHINGTON, March 4 — Seeking to revive Egypt's long-standing role as the Arab world's principal Middle East peace broker, President Hosni Mubarak kicked off an official visit here today by pressing for a face-to-face meeting in Egypt between the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
In an interview with CNN, Mr. Mubarak also said Mr. Sharon had asked him to arrange a meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to review the recent Saudi peace overture. But he said he doubted that such a meeting would be possible "unless there is peace."
On the eve of a White House meeting with President Bush, Mr. Mubarak said he had asked Mr. Sharon to travel to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik to meet Mr. Arafat, an idea Mr. Mubarak floated in Egypt last week to little notice. The prospects for any such meeting seem dim, because Mr. Sharon has not met with Mr. Arafat since taking office a year ago, and Mr. Arafat remains confined to the West Bank town of Ramallah by Israeli troops.
"We are not going to solve all the problems we want," Mr. Mubarak told CNN, adding that a meeting would be useful "just as a change, to change the atmosphere, to see the people both are sitting with each other."
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell talked with Mr. Mubarak for 45 minutes at Blair House, the presidential guest house, this morning, and said later, "His idea is an interesting one, but of course it's up to the two individuals, Mr. Arafat and Mr. Sharon, to decide which forums they would participate in."
A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Mark Regev, said, "We support Egyptian proposals to stabilize the situation and bring about a cease-fire, but surely it is an illusion to believe a summit in itself can solve all our problems."
He added, "We don't need talk, we need Palestinians to live up to their own commitments to take concrete steps against the terrorists."
In the CNN interview, Mr. Mubarak said he hoped a meeting between Mr. Sharon and Mr. Arafat might make the atmosphere "far better," so talks could then proceed at the ministerial level. He acknowledged that it was difficult to know whether both men could make the tough decisions needed to restart peace talks.
"From the side of Arafat, we can push," Mr. Mubarak said, "but I don't know if Mr. Sharon is going to respond to that or not."
However slim the chance that Mr. Mubarak's invitation will be accepted, the fact that he made it showed his determination to keep a central role for Egypt in any peace talks, even those that might involve Prince Abdullah's recent suggestion that the Saudis would be prepared to offer full recognition to Israel in exchange for full Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied after the 1967 war.
The Saudi idea was not entirely new, but it stood out as the only fresh proposal in months of violence. Mr. Mubarak said that in a recent phone call — only his second with Mr. Sharon in the last year — the Israeli prime minister had asked him to arrange a meeting with Prince Abdullah, so Mr. Sharon could better understand the initiative.
"I know it's a very difficult question," Mr. Mubarak said. "I don't think that Crown Prince Abdullah, the country of the holy places, will be able to meet with Sharon unless there is peace."
Administration officials said they interpreted Mr. Mubarak's proposal for a summit as an effort to look for new ideas and momentum rather than as a step likely to be accepted. "It's more like, `We've got to do something,' " one official said.
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
