JEDDAH, 6 November 2004 — In their first contacts with President George W. Bush since his re-election, Muslim leaders have urged him to revive the Middle East peace process, diplomatic sources said yesterday.
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah was among the first leaders to telephone Bush for what both sides have described as a friendly and substantive conversation. The Saudi leadership has been encouraged by Bush’s comments at his first post-election press conference in Washington on Thursday in which he renewed his commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Bush also took telephone calls from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdallah II. Jordanian sources said the king had urged Bush to help create “a ray of hope” for the Palestinians at a time they may be facing a difficult transition.
Another Muslim leader to contact Bush was Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who invited the re-elected US leader to push for a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and other festering political conflicts during his second term, officials in Islamabad said.
“If the root causes of strife and terror were resolved in a meaningful and just manner, it would usher in an era of peace and harmony,” Musharraf said in a congratulatory message to the US leader on his re-election.
Musharraf urged Bush “to use this unique opportunity to work for the resolution of Palestine and other festering disputes,” according to a Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement.
The Pakistani leader said, “there is a need, more than ever, for initiation of processes for closing fronts,” in apparent reference to Kashmir and Middle East conflicts. “He offered to join hands to bring civilizations together and embark on a new era of constructive partnerships.” He also offered the US leader “full support in achieving the shared objectives of peace and prosperity for the peoples of the two countries.”
According to analysts the revival of the “road map” proposed by Bush would enable the Muslim nations to speed up efforts to set up a multinational force to protect the forthcoming Iraqi elections.
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Yemen have offered to provide troops while several oil-rich Arab states are expected to make a financial contribution to the project.
A Bush emissary is expected to tour the region later this month to speed up progress on both the Palestinian and Iraqi issues. The emissary is expected to be the US ambassador to the United Nations John Danforth who is scheduled to preside over the signing of a peace accord between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Nairobi later this month, Danforth helped negotiate the accord.
Arab and other Muslim leaders insist that the new Bush administration should make “a meaningful move” on the Palestinian issue ahead of the multinational conference on Iraq, scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Shaikh, Egypt, on Nov. 22-23.
