Egypt, Israel: More time needed before restarting talks

May 27, 1997
Web posted at: 12:55 p.m. EDT (1655 GMT)

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (CNN) -- The leaders of Israel and Egypt said at a peace summit Tuesday they need more time and consultations with the Palestinians before stalled Middle East peace talks can be restarted.

"We need another meeting and we need more deliberation," said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a three-hour meeting at the Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheikh.

Netanyahu called the meeting "a positive beginning" but said more work was needed "to achieve progress."

"I am convinced that if there is a sharing of our desire to solve the outstanding matters and move the peace process forward with security, then I think we can move forward," the Israeli leader said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
AIFF or WAV	No winners or losers (162 K / 14 sec. audio)
AIFF or WAV	The next stage (247 K / 25 sec. audio)
AIFF or WAV	The Israeli peoples' mandate (128 K / 14 sec. audio)

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak:
AIFF or WAV	Egypt will not exert pressure (288 K / 20 sec. audio)
AIFF or WAV	What issues were discussed (162 K / 14 sec. audio)
AIFF or WAV	Will Arafat attend the next meeting? (264 K / 24 sec. audio)

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat abandoned the peace talks in March after Israel began construction on a Jewish housing project in Jerusalem. Netanyahu refuses to halt construction on the project.

The Egyptian position, Mubarak said, is not to pressure either side into resuming talks, but rather to find common ground that would allow their resumption.

Mubarak represented the Palestinian position in Tuesday's summit after meeting with Arafat on Monday. During the news conference following the summit, Mubarak said it was unclear if Arafat would attend the next meeting between the Egyptian and Israeli leaders.

Mubarak did speak by phone with Arafat during the meeting, and said he would hold a face-to-face meeting with the Palestinian leader in the near future.

Reuters contributed to this report.

 

• Newsmaker profile: Benjamin Netanyahu
• Newsmaker profile: Hosni Mubarak
• Newsmaker profile: Yasser Arafat

Related stories:

• Sparring sides call U.S. Mideast peace mission a failure - May 16, 1997
• Mubarak meets Jordanian minister, U.S. envoy - May 10, 1997
• Netanyahu says peace process will continue - May 1, 1997
• Palestinians want quicker final peace deal, Israel says - April 16, 1997
• Arafat agrees to help prevent militants' attacks - April 10, 1997
• Egypt sets conditions to mediate Mideast peace

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Egyptian State Information Service
• Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• ArabNet

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

Search for related CNN stories:   [Help] Tip: You can restrict your search to the title of a document. Example: title:New Year's Resolutions

Sound off on our message boards Tell us what you think! You said it...

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.