EGYPT: SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN LEADERS DISCUSS MID EAST PEACE PROCESS

Описание: (26 Jul 1998) Arabic/Nat

In yet another bid to kick start the stalled Middle East peace process, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad held talks on Sunday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.

High on the agenda was the future of the Golan Heights which was seized from Syria by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war. Its return is seen as a condition for peace with the Jewish state.

Both leaders blame Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu for the collapse in the peace process.

It's the latest effort in the bid to ease tension in the troubled Middle East.

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad arrived in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Sunday for talks with his Egyptian counterpart in the hope of bringing the region one step closer to permanent peace.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Assad at Alexandria airport.

From there the two leaders made their way to the Rasel-Tin Palace for their private meeting.

Both leaders said little about the finer details of their discussions but it's understood the future ownership of the controversial Golan heights which Israel annexed from Syria during the 1967 Mid-East war.

Syria has expressed anger over Israeli's decision to give preliminary approval to a bill requiring that a referendum be held in Israel on any decision to withdraw from the strategic Golan Heights.

Syria insists that the land must be returned as a condition for peace with the Jewish state and its feared a referendum may complicate peace negotiations with Syria.

The two leaders also discussed the stalled peace process and how best to kick start the negotiating process.

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"I don't want to say that America will withdraw its effort from the peace process and it (America) did not mention that it will withdraw from the peace process, because America is very essential for the peace process in the Middle East, and President Clinton is committed to achieving peace and perhaps activating the European role in the peace process can activate the American role in the peace process.
SUPER CAPTION: Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian President

The two leaders also spoke about a recent French-Egyptian proposal for an international conference on the peace process.

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"It's still under consideration."
SUPER CAPTION: Hafez al-Assad, Syrian President

Syria and Egypt blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the breakdown in peace negotiations because he failed to honour a land-for-peace deal thrashed out back in 1991.

Recently both leaders have rejected Israel's strict conditions for its troop withdrawal from south Lebanon, saying the Jewish state should get nothing in return for pulling out.

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