Sharon and Mubarak during Sharm summit
Photo: Reuters
Sharon, Mubarak may meet after pullout
Egyptian sources say Mubarak is working to receive guarantees from Sharon regarding implementation of the U.S.-backed Road Map for peace initiative and launching of negotiations with Palestinians; representatives for the two leaders discussing possibility of holding summit following Egyptian presidential elections, scheduled for September 7
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may meet following the completion of Israel’s pullout from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, Egyptian sources told the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
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Mubarak is working toward getting guarantees from Sharon regarding the implementation of the U.S.-backed Road Map for peace initiative and the launching of negotiations with the Palestinians, the sources said, adding that Mubarak also expects Sharon to remain flexible regarding future talks with Syria and Lebanon.
Representatives for the two leaders are already discussing the possibility of holding the summit following the Egyptian presidential elections, scheduled for September 7.
Should the summit take place, it would mark the second meeting between Sharon and Mubarak during the past year. The last summit was held in Sharm el-Sheikh in February 2005.
Dispute over international force in Sinai
However, the Egyptian sources said the planned summit would not include the participation of additional Arab countries, as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had suggested during her last visit to the region.
The U.S. and Israel hope the disengagement would encourage Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel and perhaps even agree to another summit similar to the one held in Sharm.
The Egyptian sources said such a summit would only follow the Cairo meeting of Arab foreign ministers, which has already been delayed twice.
Meanwhile, Asharq Al-Awsat has reported that Egyptian Border Guard forces have already begun to deploy along 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) of the Gaza-Egypt border.
Western diplomatic sources said Egypt and Israel are in disagreement over the role of the international peacekeeping force in the Sinai Peninsula.
The Egyptians hope the force, which includes troops from 10 different nations, would assume a more active and vital role, while Israel insists the force should remain symbolic in its functionalities, the sources said.
