Sept.  24, 2001

Emerging from his talks with French President Jacques Chirac, President Mubarak said Egypt and France agree on the importance of convening an international conference for combating various forms of terrorism and reaching a formula to which all countries of the world would be committed.

    President Mubarak in statements to journalists said views of Egypt and France were identical on the events taking place at the international arena following the attacks against US targets.

    The President said regional conflicts; mainly Middle East conflict, Jerusalem, Al Harm Al Sharif and usurped rights of the Palestinians were the main reasons of violence and terrorism in the world, calling on international community to address these conflicts.

    Answering a question on statements by the United States that it was not in need of the UN approval to launch the strike it is planning, President Mubarak said: "We would not like to make a comment on these statements, as Americans were still nervous about the latest blasts in New York and Washington."

    He said Americans consider their planned strike as a self-defense and "we are waiting to see what kind the strike will be, as we do not have full information."

    The President said they might have proofs and evidences on some organizations that have committed those attacks.

    On the postponement by Sharon of the meeting between Arafat and Peres once more, and whether he believed that such a meeting could be held, the President said he hopes so.

    However, he said, the postponement of the meeting is an ill-advised decision adding: " If we want to solve the problem, we should sit down and negotiate together.

    Answering a question on the circumstances under which Egypt would support military action in the framework of international alliance for confronting terrorism, the President said "we support combating terrorism anywhere in the world and we support the United States in all conditions as we have suffered much from terrorism and lost much in its crimes. We have very good experience in this field and so we support the United States in combating terrorism."