CAIRO, 28 October — Egypt and Saudi Arabia want Arab countries to work toward presenting a united front to the world, the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said yesterday.
The comments follow Libya’s decision last week to withdraw from the Arab League in protest at what it said was the failure of Arab states to take a stronger stance against any US attack on Iraq and Israeli attempts to crush a Palestinian uprising.
"The feeling is mutual that we face difficult challenges which require gathering all Arab elements and capabilities to meet them," Prince Saud told reporters after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
"The feeling of the two leaderships is that there is Arab weakness in confronting the issues facing them and that this doesn’t fit with Arab civilization and our Arab capabilities," he said.
The prince said he gave Mubarak messages from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.
He did not name any specific challenges, but Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are currently the top issues of concern in the region.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Saturday that he would deliver a message from Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi to Arab states outlining Qaddafi’s thoughts on what needed to be done by Arab states on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most Arab countries — including Egypt and Saudi Arabia — oppose a war against Iraq and say any action should be taken under the auspices of the United Nations.
Prince Saud said the two leaders agreed that a special committee of Arab foreign ministers should meet soon to discuss efforts by the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
In a telephone call to Moussa, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud proposed the adoption of "a series of steps" to ensure Arab solidarity. Lahoud "proposed a series of steps that should be adopted, in cooperation with all Arab states to assert that solidarity," a Lebanese official source said.
The official said Moussa called Lahoud earlier in the day to inform him of his talks with Qaddafi.
