BEIRUT, 18 May — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal urged the Arab League yesterday to push forward a Saudi-inspired initiative for peace with Israel adopted at an Arab summit in Beirut in March.
Prince Saud was speaking to journalists on arrival here ahead of a meeting today of a nine-member committee appointed by the summit to follow up on the proposal.
“It is important that this committee start work, and I am sure that it will take the appropriate steps to ensure the pursuit of the initiative,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Prince Saud as saying.
“The Sharm El-Sheikh summit came to push the Arab peace efforts,” he said, referring to the tripartite summit that brought together Crown Prince Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
“I believe the committee has specific responsibilities given by the summit and I am hopeful that it would reach an agreement on future steps,” the prince said.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the two-day meeting, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the plan should be at the heart of any Arab stance in negotiations with Israel. “The events in the occupied territories are what is holding up the Arab initiative, and I hope events will allow us to pursue this plan which must be the foundation of any future negotiations or political action,” he said.
The meeting is also expected to coordinate Arab positions on any Middle East peace conference, which Moussa has said is impossible unless Israel withdraws from occupied Arab territories.
