Solana urges Arabs to be flexible in peace offer to Israel
EU foreign policy chief calls Arab initiative 'a general concept that has to be developed,' urges Arabs and Israel to deal with plan as starting point in negotiations rather than take-it-or-leave-it proposal
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Wednesday urged Arab states to be flexible in their land-for-peace offer to Israel,
warning that without a solution to the conflict the Mideast is at risk of "missing the train of human and economic development."
At an Arab summit in the Saudi capital,
Solana called for an end to Israel's occupation of lands seized in the 1967 Mideast war — a key demand in an Arab peace plan that the two-day gathering intends to relaunch.
Saudi Warning
'Rejecting peace plan is like asking for war' / Ynet
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But he called the Arab initiative "a general concept that has to be developed." He urged the Arabs and Israel to deal with the plan as a starting point in negotiations rather than a take-it-or-leave-it proposal.
"The important thing is to get the negotiations started. In any negotiations there are changes in positions, because negotiations are like that," Solana told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.
The Arab peace initiative calls for Israel to return occupied lands and reach a settlement with the Palestinians that allows for a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem and a "fair settlement" to the refugees issue. In return, Arab nations would sign a comprehensive peace with Israel.
Israel rejected the plan when it was first launched by a 2002 Arab summit, but it has now said it could accept it if there were some changes. The U.S. and EU are trying to secure a resumption of Arab-Israeli peace talks on the basis on the plan.
'Risk of missing the train of development'
Arab leaders have resisted Israeli calls for amendments in the plan, but they will create "working groups" to discuss it with the United States, Europe and United Nations — and perhaps Israel. Moderate Arab leaders hope the smaller talks will give them leeway to sell the plan as a starting point for talks.
Solana said he expected two or three working groups to be formed to make the initiative "more operational in order to move the process forward."
In a written message to the Arab leaders gathered in Riyadh, Solana said the European Union hopes "all the members of the Arab League will take their responsibilities and contribute to the success of this enterprise."
"Failure to rise to today's challenges will put the Middle East risk of missing the train of human and economic development," he said in the message.
Before arriving in Riyadh, Solana expressed optimism that the relaunched initiative could reinvigorate the Mideast peace process.
Solana's presence at the Arab League summit was designed to highlight the European Union's support for the peace initiative, officials said. It will also demonstrate the bloc's backing for Saudi Arabia's efforts to resolve a number of regional crises, including the political impasse in Lebanon and efforts to bring Iran's nuclear program under international supervision.
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