Egyptian President urges Syria to help solve Lebanon's crisis

President Sarkozy: No more diplomacy with Syria

Israeli report slams army over Lebanon war

Palestinian President calls for 'new page' with Hamas

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Syria to help Lebanon achieve a national consensus on the postponed presidential election and maintain its stability.

The two leaders made the remarks at a joint press conference after their talks at the presidential palace here, stressing the necessity to safeguard the independence of Lebanon's national will and realize its national reconciliation.

Mubarak underscored the urgency of Lebanon's election of a president, which was postponed for the 11th time and rescheduled on Jan. 12, 2008. Mubarak said that the situation in Lebanon could lead to unspecified complications if it continues like that.

For his part, Sarkozy noted that France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows sincerity in letting Lebanon choose a consensus president.

It's time for Syria to show proof of goodwill and take action instead of paying lip service to help solve the Lebanese crisis, the French president added.

Talks between the two presidents dealt with means of boosting bilateral relations in the various fields and promoting consultations between the two countries' leaderships on issues of joint interest.

The Mubarak-Sarkozy summit also tackled enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade and investment in the light of growing investment opportunities in those domains.

Cooperation between Cairo and Paris in cultural and technological vistas was also examined.

The two leaders also dealt with outcome of Annapolis and donor countries conferences along with efforts exerted to give an impetus to the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations and ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.

They also exchanged views on conditions in Iraq and the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

The Lebanese file also figured high on the talks as both Cairo and Paris are keen on ending the Lebanese presidential crisis and bringing about stability to that country. Mubarak and Sarkozy also tackled ways to foster ties between their countries and the African states, especially that Egypt will host the upcoming Africa-France summit.

Talks also covered a proposal by Sarkozy on setting up a Mediterranean union grouping all countries overlooking the Mediterranean to boost cooperation among them in the different fields.

Mubarak termed this suggestion as "good" but needs more thorough study. Sarkozy's Egypt visit acquires special importance in light of the positive results reached by the Egyptian-French higher presidency council meetings, held recently in Paris.

A cooperation protocol was signed during those meetings in the fields of communications, infrastructure and ready-made clothes, something which helped the increase of the volume of trade exchange to reach 2.3 billion euros.

President Sarkozy had asserted his country's keenness on upping investment in Egypt over the coming period to become the first foreign investor.

He had also expressed France readiness to cooperate with Egypt in the field of the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

President Sarkozy and his accompanying delegation left Egypt on Monday, wrapping up his ten-day official visit to the country during which he held talks with President Mubarak on the latest developments in the region and bilateral ties.

Before his official visit Sarkozy paid a two-day private visit to Luxor in Upper Egypt. Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni saw Sarkozy off at the airport.

President Sarkozy had said it was high time to put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict and to Palestinian-Israeli fighting that lasted for more than 60 years.

At a meeting held with Egyptian intellectuals, writers and businessmen at the French embassy, President Sarkozy said he will visit Israel in the spring of 2008 to tell the Israelis that neither any wall nor the suffering of the Palestinian people could guarantee Israel's security.

He stressed the necessity of establishing a free and independent Palestinian state President Sarkozy said it is in Israel's interest to support Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

The establishment of the state of Israel was a political fait accompli and France will always guarantee Israel's right to security, according to the French president. France also supports the establishment of a Palestinian state that would include the Gaza Strip, Sarkozy said.

The French president called for halting Israeli settlement activities and for exerting further efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

He called on the Palestinians to recognize Israel's right to exist.

French President Sarkozy said at the meeting, attended by Minster of Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid, French Ambassador in Cairo Philippe Coste and Egyptian Ambassador in France Nasser Kamel, that Egypt ought to help the Israelis and Palestinians face up to those who explode bombs and kill innocent people. There should be a Palestinian nation and an Israeli one.

He said France will also be against those who believe that Israel will not exist, a according to Sarkozy. Those who believe that there will be no Palestinian state are mistaken and France will be also against them, according to Sarkozy.

He said he told Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert and U.S. President George Bush that "time is ripe to bring about peace in the area".

About the conflict of civilizations, Sarkozy said it was among the 21st century challenges that should be dealt with.

"Talk to all," is how the French president chooses to approach the problem. Out of this belief, Sarkozy invited Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi to France and contacted Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

"I wanted to give dialogue a chance," he told the gathering.

Sarkozy said he would do his best to make of Paris a bridge between the East and West, noting that Egypt, under President Hosni Mubarak, could embody a moderate Arab regime.

Moderation, according to the French leader, means that believers respect non-believers and give way to heterogeneity.

This is why Paris supports Egypt's peaceful nuclear program, "because I don't want to watch your countries fall prey to poverty after the oil and gas era is over," Sarkozy said, noting that terrorism feeds off poverty.

Sarkozy also tackled his proposal for establishing a Mediterranean Union, calling on businessmen to adopt his idea.

The union as envisaged by Sarkozy has three quarters: political, cultural and economic.

Mediterranean leaders will co-chair the political department, he said, adding that artists, philosophers and writers from member states would be given room to engage in dialogue from their cultural seats.

Economically-speaking, the union will allow for balancing trade exchange and opening markets between the two sides of the Mediterranean, Sarkozy added.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora received Egypt's Ambassador to Lebanon Ahmed al-Bedeiwi.

Lebanese government sources said they reviewed the latest developments in Lebanon and ways to further boost bilateral ties.

He also held a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the country Jeffrey D. Feltman who returned to Beirut after a short vacation he spent in his country.

Seniora discussed the U.S. diplomat the latest developments in the region. The Lebanese premier urged the Lebanese people to reach a consensus on the choice of the next president for the country and not to allow despair to haunt them. In his New Year's message to the nation, Seniora said "the Lebanese people will not allow despair to govern them despite the exhaustion and boredom they are suffering" from political crises.

"A consensus must be reached whatever the different perspectives on how to serve the country," the prime minister said.

Seniora said the Lebanese people expected that politicians would find solutions to the current crisis, build the economy and confront the numerous national political, economic and social problems.

Efforts must be undertaken to safeguard the parliamentary democratic system which stipulates rotation of power, he said.

Meanwhile, 2007 ended with no signs of reconciliation between Lebanon's rival politicians, suggesting that the country's long-standing crisis is still far from being settled.

For his part, Saad Hariri, the parliament majority leader, praised the stances announced by President Hosni Mubarak and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Lebanon.

He said these stances pinpoint the cause of Lebanon's problem. It has become clear to the world that the Syrian regime is directly responsible for hindering the election of a new president, according to Hariri. The Lebanese people appreciate Mubarak and Sarkozy's call for ending foreign interference in their internal affairs, he added.

Former President Amin Gemayel said "Lebanon stands today on the threshold of a new stage after realizing all great achievements; liberalizing southern Lebanon in 2000 and the Syrian troops' withdrawal in 2005, which was the Lebanese people's hope."

In Damascus, a Syrian diplomatic source described French President Nicolas Sarkozy's statements over Syria as unfair, expressing his country's dismay over such statements.

Sarkozy, during his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, had vowed that France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows sincerity in letting Lebanon choose a consensus president.

A top aide to the French president telephoned Syria's foreign minister, one day after Nicholas Sarkozy announced suspension of diplomatic contacts with Syria over its role in Lebanon.

The two sides gave different versions of the conversation, which came as France exerts diplomatic pressure to solve a political crisis in Lebanon pitting the pro-Western government against opposition groups backed by Syria and its ally Iran.

The official Syrian news agency said Claude Gueant, Sarkozy's chief of staff, called Walid al-Moualem twice to discuss "reaching a consensus solution that achieves security and stability in Lebanon."

Sarkozy's spokesman David Martinon told Reuters the conversation was in line with an announcement by Sarkozy in Cairo ordering his government to halt communication until "Syria gave a token of good faith and a widely backed president was elected in Lebanon."

Martinon said Gueant told Moualem that contacts would cease.

A European diplomat in Damascus said France became exasperated with Syria's insistence on backing the opposition's demands for key ministries and other powers in a new government under discussion.

Moualem urged France this month to understand the demands of the opposition and said Syria was using its influence in Lebanon to promote a solution.

Two members of U.S. Congress, Republican Senator Arlen Specter, and Democratic Representative Patrick Kennedy paid a visit to Syria.

Addressing a press conference at Damascus airport, Specter described as fruitful and constructive his talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad and stressed the importance of Syria's regional Role.

Spectre also referred to his meetings a few days ago with Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert, pointing out to the possibility of reaching a peace agreement between Syria and Israel.

According to Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem discussed with the U.S. delegation Syria-U.S. relations and latest developments in the Middle East.

"Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations were held on the base of restoring Golan to Syria, and it is important for all sides to work during the current stage towards accomplishing progress in the peace process in the region, Specter said, adding that his current visit to Syria aims at contributing to achieving this goal.

The U.S. Senator expressed conviction that there is an opportunity to realize peace in the region including the Syrian track, considering Syria's participation in Annapolis conference a step on the way to achieve the peace in the region.

Specter spoke about the responsibility assumed by the Congress regarding the issues that affect the US foreign policy.

On Lebanon, Specter pointed out to Syrian-French efforts exerted to find a solution to the Lebanese crisis, affirming that this solution must be based on the concordance among the Lebanese sides along with the help of Syria and France.

"We understand that the US democracy itself can not be realized in Lebanon and what we aspire for is the democracy of agreement among the Lebanese different sides," He added, noting that Minister al-Moualem briefed them on the efforts exerted by Syria and France to reach agreement among the Lebanese sides to elect the President.

A report by an Israeli parliamentary committee placed responsibility for failures of last year's war against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia on the military.

The military leadership "ignored basic principles of Israeli strategy, which aims to bring the battle to enemy terrain and to protect the civilian population," Tzahi Hanegbi, the chairman of the foreign affairs and defence committee, was quoted by local media as saying in presenting the report.

He listed three major errors: reserve units were not mobilized early enough, it took too long to realize that air power alone could not halt Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel, and a ground offensive should have been launched earlier.

The report also accused military chiefs of "not having developed its operational plans and not to have prepared an appropriate plan of attack against Hezbollah" and criticized the government for "not having presented the army with clear objectives."

The report was the latest to blast political and military leadership over the war that lasted for 34 days last summer, killing more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

A wave of public criticism erupted in Israel following the conflict, widely perceived here as a failure for not having stopped Hezbollah rocket fire and for having failed to retrieve two Israeli servicemen whose capture by the Shiite militia sparked the conflict.

The Israeli government's Winograd Commission, established to look into the conflict, is due to release its final report early next year.

In April, the commission published an interim report in which it blasted Dan Halutz, the former army chief, and Amir Peretz, ex-minister for defence, for having failed in their duties. Both have since resigned.

The report holds Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, responsible for "serious failure," it said.

In Palestine, President Mahmoud Abbas made a speech on Fatah’s 43rd anniversary celebrations, during which he offered to talk to Hamas.

"There is no way for any party here to be an alternative to the other, and there is no room for terms like coup or military takeover, but only for dialogue, dialogue, dialogue," he said.

Abbas called for "a new page, writing in its lines a credible agreement based on partnership, on life, on our homeland and our struggle to liberate it."

"I call on those who carried out the putsch... to open a new page," Abbas told Fatah officials gathered to mark 43 years since the secular party first declared itself an armed Palestinian National Liberation Movement.

"No party should supplant another. The putsch and the military edge should not be a part of our vocabulary. Only dialogue should prevail," he said.

"I consider this appeal as an initiative in the name of all the Palestinian people," he declared.

"I call on everyone - Fatah, Hamas and all the Palestinian movements - to examine this offer and not to reject it out of hand as usual."

Abbas maintained his position that Hamas must restore power in Gaza to an elected government. But he urged reconciliation and called for new elections.

Abbas called on Hamas to end its takeover of Gaza and resume talks with Fatah.

Despite his appeal, Abbas also lashed out at Hamas and "criminal schemes contrary to the traditions of our people," notably" the arrests, the murders, the tortures and attempts to prevent by force demonstrations" marking the Fatah anniversary.

"Coups and military rebellions everywhere in the world eventually reach an end, therefore I call on the leaders of the coup to start a dialogue," Abbas said in broadcast remarks.

"I renew the option of early elections... and I pledge that I will do my best to ensure this election will be the product of a deep and brotherly understanding," he added.

Hamas, who won January 2006 parliamentary elections, has rejected Abbas’ call for another vote and the renewed clashes dimmed hopes for reconciliation anytime soon.

"We welcome any dialogue aimed at unifying the Palestinian ranks," Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told AFP. "But the dialogue should not be accompanied by any conditions."

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahhar said his movement rejected the call for early legislative elections in the Palestinian territories.

"We are ready for unconditional dialogue. If we sit at the same table, each side has the right to present what it has, and each side has the right to reject or accept what the other presents," said al-Zahhar.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has barred new construction work, building planning and occupancy tenders at West Bank settlements without his approval, documents show.

The move is meant to bolster U.S.-backed peace talks, soured by disputes over Jewish settlement construction, ahead of a visit by President George W. Bush early next month.

In a December 30 letter to the ministers of defense, housing and agriculture, Olmert wrote "construction, new building, expansion, preparation of plans, publication of residency tenders, confiscation of land stemming from other settlement activities in the (West Bank) area will not go forward and will not be implemented without requesting and receiving in advance approval by the defense minister and the prime minister."

The letter does not rule out the prime minister approving construction within West Bank settlements.

His spokesman, Mark Regev, said Olmert committed at talks last week with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to take "any actions that could prejudice a final status agreement."

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat reiterated the Palestinians are ready to make peace if Israel freezes all settlement activity in the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. "Settlements and peace do not go together," he said.

The talks, launched at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, have bogged down since Israel announced plans to build hundreds of new homes in an area near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim.