Monday, 11 March, 2002
Arab Foreign Ministers Cite Last Chance for Peace
VOA
News 11
Mar 2002

Arab foreign
ministers meeting in Cairo say the Saudi proposal for ending
Israeli-Palestinian violence could be the "last chance" for
peace.
The ministers closed
two days of talks in Cairo Sunday ahead of the Arab Summit in Beirut later this
month. The Saudi Arabian plan offers Israel peace with Arab countries in
exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from Arab land captured in the 1967 Mideast
War.
Kuwait's minister of
state for foreign affairs, Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah, said the Saudi
plan should be formally presented in Beirut.
Asked what Arabs will
do if Israel refuses the offer, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa
declined to reply, other than to say, it is "a clear message."
Sunday, Saudi
Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Israel would get what he called "complete
peace" with the Arab world if it accepts Riyadh's proposal.
Mr. Faisal says
Arab countries are ready to realize a lasting and comprehensive peace with
Israel but that Israel must show its good faith by withdrawing from captured
Arab territory. He said it must also recognize what he called legitimate
Palestinian rights -- including the creation of an independent state with
Jerusalem as its capital.
The Saudi initiative
has already won support from three major Arab countries, Egypt, Syria and
Jordan. Libya and Iraq have rejected the Saudi plan, calling instead for
stepped-up Arab support for the Palestinian uprising.
Some information
for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
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