CAIRO, Egypt - The leaders of Egypt and Syria pledged Wednesday to try to persuade fellow Arab leaders to agree on a "unified stand" on a Saudi peace plan that has become the focus of efforts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Syria's Bashar Assad, whose views weigh heavily on the direction of Mideast peacemaking, held their talks a week before an Arab summit in Beirut where diplomats will take up the Saudi initiative.
Mubarak and Assad's talks dealt with the "positive spirit reflected in the peace initiative," which "demonstrates the direction of the Arab nation toward realizing a just and comprehensive peace," a statement by the two leaders said.
"They emphasized their resolve to contribute toward the forging of a unified Arab stand on the initiative during the summit in Beirut," it said.
The comments marked Syria's strongest support for the Saudi proposal, which envisages complete peace between all Arab nations and Israel if the Jewish state returns Arab lands seized in the 1967 war.
The plan, first floated in broad terms by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in a newspaper interview last month, has the support of most Arab nations and has been welcomed by the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has endorsed it as a fresh start, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office has said it wants to know more about the ideas. Sharon, however, has long opposed a full withdrawal to pre-1967 borders.
Such a pullback would include not only the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — sought by the Palestinians for a state — but also the Golan Heights, seized by Israel from Syria in 1967.Intense diplomacy has been taking place in advance of the March 27-28 gathering of Arab leaders in the Lebanese capital.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Tuesday diplomats aimed to reach a "complete initiative" and said agreement on the ideas had been growing daily.
Assad conferred on the plan Tuesday with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in Damascus. Jordan's King Abdullah is expected to discuss the Saudi initiative with President Bush on the sidelines of an economic conference in Mexico on Thursday or Friday, palace officials said.
The initiative "has been presented to Arab leaders," al-Faisal said in Beirut. "If they find it useful, they will accept it and if not, they will reject it. It is not imposed on anyone."
Syria, where Assad succeeded his father, the late Hafez Assad, as president in July 2000, takes a hardline approach to Mideast peacemaking. Its peace negotiations with Israel haven't resumed since their collapse in January 2000.
Al-Faisal has said the Saudi initiative addresses all Arab concerns, including the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Details on how the refugee problem would be addressed — a major obstacle throughout the years of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks — have not been revealed. More than 2 million Palestinian refugees are in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.CAIRO, Egypt - The leaders of Egypt and Syria pledged Wednesday to try to persuade fellow Arab leaders to agree on a "unified stand" on a Saudi peace plan that has become the focus of efforts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Syria's Bashar Assad, whose views weigh heavily on the direction of Mideast peacemaking, held their talks a week before an Arab summit in Beirut where diplomats will take up the Saudi initiative.
Mubarak and Assad's talks dealt with the "positive spirit reflected in the peace initiative," which "demonstrates the direction of the Arab nation toward realizing a just and comprehensive peace," a statement by the two leaders said.
"They emphasized their resolve to contribute toward the forging of a unified Arab stand on the initiative during the summit in Beirut," it said.
The comments marked Syria's strongest support for the Saudi proposal, which envisages complete peace between all Arab nations and Israel if the Jewish state returns Arab lands seized in the 1967 war.
The plan, first floated in broad terms by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in a newspaper interview last month, has the support of most Arab nations and has been welcomed by the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has endorsed it as a fresh start, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office has said it wants to know more about the ideas. Sharon, however, has long opposed a full withdrawal to pre-1967 borders.
Such a pullback would include not only the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — sought by the Palestinians for a state — but also the Golan Heights, seized by Israel from Syria in 1967.Intense diplomacy has been taking place in advance of the March 27-28 gathering of Arab leaders in the Lebanese capital.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Tuesday diplomats aimed to reach a "complete initiative" and said agreement on the ideas had been growing daily.
Assad conferred on the plan Tuesday with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in Damascus. Jordan's King Abdullah is expected to discuss the Saudi initiative with President Bush on the sidelines of an economic conference in Mexico on Thursday or Friday, palace officials said.
The initiative "has been presented to Arab leaders," al-Faisal said in Beirut. "If they find it useful, they will accept it and if not, they will reject it. It is not imposed on anyone."
Syria, where Assad succeeded his father, the late Hafez Assad, as president in July 2000, takes a hardline approach to Mideast peacemaking. Its peace negotiations with Israel haven't resumed since their collapse in January 2000.
Al-Faisal has said the Saudi initiative addresses all Arab concerns, including the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Details on how the refugee problem would be addressed — a major obstacle throughout the years of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks — have not been revealed. More than 2 million Palestinian refugees are in Lebanon, Syria and Jorda