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November 23, 2007

Arab League Ministers Discuss Mideast Peace Conference
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1A58921:A6F02AD83191E160EF617974C7A32CE60531BB26A5003E7B& Participants
seeking to form unified position ahead of US-sponsored conference next
week





Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, right, Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas, center and Saudi FM Prince Saud Al Faysal at
meeting in Cairo, 23 Nov 2007Arab foreign ministers are meeting Friday
in Cairo to form a unified position ahead of a U.S.-sponsored Middle
East peace conference next week.

Participants in the Arab League meeting will also decide whether to
accept invitations to the conference in the eastern U.S. city of
Annapolis, near Washington.

Egypt and Turkey are the first two Muslim nations to confirm their
participation in the November 27th conference.

On Thursday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks with the
leaders of Jordan and the Palestinians to coordinate positions.

The meeting between Mr. Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah and
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took place in the Egyptian Red Sea
resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

But deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas called
the conference "stillborn," saying it will not bring any benefits to
the Palestinians.

The United States has invited nearly 50 nations and organizations to
the conference, including several Arab states that do not recognize
Israel -- such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria.

Egypt, Jordan and Turkey maintain diplomatic relations with the Jewish
state.



Mr. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are to attend the
peace conference.



Israeli and Palestinian officials are trying to complete a joint
document to be presented at the conference. The document would address
core issues such as final borders, security, the status of Jerusalem
and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


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