March 14, 2002

Mubarak and Cheney probe ways of containing escalating violence.

President Mubarak yesterday received in Sharm EL Sheikh Richard Cheney the US Vice President who arrived in Egypt from Jordan in the context of a Middle East tour that will take him to eleven countries.

    Talks between Mubarak and Cheney dealt with the situation in Palestinian territories, ongoing efforts for reaching a ceasefire and bringing the two sides back to negotiations table in the light of the Saudi initiative, bilateral relations, expanding commercial and economic cooperation, investment and combating international terrorism.

    President Mubarak appreciated efforts exerted by the US administration to halt the Middle East violence and resume negotiations.

    At a joint press conference with US Vice President Dick Cheney in Sharm EL Sheikh on Wednesday, President Mubarak expressed hope that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would comply with the recent Security Council resolution on establishing a Palestinian state side by side with Israel.

    Cheney said that his country was committed to the peace process and to establishing two independent states living side by side.

    President Mubarak stressed the importance of Iraq's compliance with the Security Council resolutions in the interest of the Iraqi people, pointing out to the importance of Iraq's sovereignty.

    Cheney said he discussed with President Mubarak the war against terrorism and the peace process in the region.

    Halting Egyptian- American relations, the US official said Cairo and Washington were cooperating on combating terrorism, noting that Egypt had once been victim of terrorism.

    President Mubarak said his talks with Cheney in Sharm EL Sheikh completed the talks he started during his recent visit to the United States, adding that the talks dealt with a number of important issues.

    President Mubarak said that he discussed with the U.S. Vice President a number of issues of mutual concern to the Egyptian and American peoples, especially the trade exchange to back the economic reform programme.

    He said that developments in the Middle East took up a major part of his discussions with Cheney.

    I agreed with Cheney on the importance of boosting efforts to implement Tenet's understandings and Mitchell's recommendations, added Mubarak.

    He said that peace could only be achieved through pushing forward peace efforts, and through full conviction of the importance of land for all, and through the establishment of a Palestinian State to affirm that all peoples in the region had a right to live in peace.

    Mubarak said that the Palestinians expected all parties to exert every possible effort to realise peace in the region.

    Mubarak slammed Israel's destruction of Palestinian houses and bombardment of their territories, urging Israel to immediately halt its military operations against the Palestinians.

    He hoped that Cheney's talks in the region would help stem violence and resume negotiations, calling on parties to do their best to go ahead with the peace process.

    He affirmed resolve to fight terrorism to stamp it out and said terrorism posed a threat to the security of the entire world.

    Cheney, meanwhile, said that he was happy to return to the region to meet President Mubarak, adding that he had been a friend of the Egyptian leader for many years.

    Asked about Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's endeavours to stop violence in the region, Cheney said he believed that all parties must exert efforts to end violence.

    Cheney called for a ceasefire in order to pave the way for resuming negotiations, stressing the importance of the Tenet plan and Mitchell recommendations.

    Cheney said he discussed with President Mubarak weapons of mass destruction and their threat to the peoples of the region and the world.

    The United States is committed to combating terrorism and realizing peace in the region, he added.

    Cheney, now on a regional tour, noted that Egypt and the United States have been enjoying strong relations for many years and the Unites States and, as a major power, is committed to peace and uprooting terrorism.

    On the US view of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's policy and the heavy losses inflicted on the Palestinians recently, Cheney said that he was visiting the region to end violence peacefully.

    "American envoy Anthony Zinni will return to the region soon," said Cheney,

    Adding that he would visit Israel next week and would seek to convince the two parties to end violence.

    On reports that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein rejected the return of the international arms inspectors and the possible use of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq, President Mubarak said that Egypt would do its best to convince Saddam of accepting the return of weapons inspectors.

    He said that the issue of allowing inspectors back to Iraq would be discussed during an Arab summit due in Beirut late this month.

    The President said that he believed that the Iraqi President would accept the return of weapons inspectors.

    President Mubarak hosted a dinner in honour of Cheney and his accompanying delegation.

    Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who welcomed the US Vice President upon arrival in Sharm EL Sheikh said Egypt was prepared to discuss any issue to be raised by the US Vice President atop of which is the sustained Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

    Upon arrival in Sharm EL Sheikh yesterday, Cheney visited US soldiers taking part in the multi national force and observers (MFO) at a camp near Sharm EL Sheikh, he told them that the Middle East was full of conflicts but it contains centers sensitive to the US interests economically, politically and militarily.

    He said the United States is involved in the Middle East as a force of stability and in the long run, he said, consequently our goal is to prevent terrorists and the regimes sponsoring them from threatening the United States, our friends and allies with mass destruction weapons.

    He said the United States would not allow powers of terrorism to get annihilation tools.

    Meanwhile, US sources said General Anthony Zinni, the US envoy to the Middle East will arrive in Israel today on the first leg of a mission to the region, with the aim of reaching a ceasefire between the Israelis and Palestinians, the sources said Zinni's assignment will be restricted to the security aspects.

    State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the message Zinni wants to address to the two sides underlined the need for halting military escalation.