Arab League wants UN or Quartet to sponsor talks

Middle East:Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa said yesterday that the international conference proposed last month by the US should be sponsored either by the UN or the Quartet comprising the US, UN, EU and Russia.

"We have suggested that the Quartet should take the initiative for an international peace conference, or it should be held in the framework of the security council," he stated.

He also insisted the conference should focus on substance rather than "salutations or greetings".

Mr Moussa's remarks, delivered on the eve of a gathering of Arab foreign ministers called to draft a response to the US proposal, reflect Arab concern that the conference could be a photo opportunity rather than a platform for launching serious negotiations.

Arab worries were exacerbated on July 17th when a US spokesman attempted to downplay expectations of the proposed conference on the day after it was announced by US president George Bush.

Suspicions deepened when Washington suggested the conference would be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in September rather than at a separate venue and a different time.

The Bush administration is keen to convince Saudi Arabia, the author of the Arab League plan, to attend this meeting, which would bring together Palestinians, Arabs, and Israel under an international umbrella.

But Riyadh, which does not recognise or have relations with Israel, is reluctant to attend such an event.

The Saudis cite the failure of the 1991 Madrid peace conference, at which Israel sat round a table with Arab leaders to initiate negotiations to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Saudis, and other Arab states which have no relations with Israel, argue that they will meet with Israelis once a Palestinian-Israeli deal and a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement are agreed and are in the process of implementation.

The ministers convening today in Cairo will also assess last week's visit to Jerusalem of the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt to formally present to Israel the Arab League plan calling for full Arab normalisation with Israel in exchange for full Israeli withdrawal from territory occupied in 1967.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has expressed interest in the proposal.

It was rejected by his predecessor, Ariel Sharon, when it was put forward in 2002.

But Mr Olmert said Israel would not evacuate all captured territory and would not accept the repatriation of Palestinians expelled during Israel's war of establishment in 1948.

Arab governments are willing to agree a settlement that satisfies the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese whose territories Israel still occupies.

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and defence secretary Robert Gates are due to hold talks on the Bush proposal tomorrow with Arab foreign ministers at the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Shaikh.

While Washington's Arab allies and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas have welcomed the initiative, Syria, which calls for talks with Israel over the occupied Golan Heights, says the Bush proposal is only words so far and Hamas, which controls Gaza, rejects the US offer.

Dr Rice and Mr Gates will also travel to Riyadh and the Gulf, where they are to discuss arms sales worth $20 billion to the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, headed by Saudi Arabia.

The arms, including satellite guided bombs, are meant to counter the rising influence of Iran in Iraq and the Gulf.

To entice Congress to approve sales to the Arabs, Washington has agreed to increase aid to Israel by 25 per cent to reach $30 billion over the next decade, averaging $3 billion a year.