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Mubarak Visits With Abdullah In Jordan
by Tareq Ayyoub
AMMAN, Feb 27 (IslamOnline) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan on Tuesday concluded bilateral talks on the stalled peace process in the Middle East and the 11-year sanctions on Iraq during the Egyptian leader's short visit to the Jordanian capital Amman.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdulah Ilah Khatib said talks between the two leaders also focused on boosting economic cooperation between Amman and Cairo and preparations for the upcoming Arab summit, scheduled to be held in Amman on March. 27th.
Khatib told reporters following the meeting that Mubarak and Abdullah tackled all issues that could be on the agenda of the summit, the second in less than six months.
"The two leaders agreed to enhance contacts ahead of the summit and the appropriate preparations for it," the minister told reporters.
Khatib said that the Palestinian cause and U.S.-spearheaded sanctions on Iraq are expected to top the summit's agenda.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mousa described the situation in Palestinian self-rule areas as "critical" as a result of the continued Israeli closure of Palestinian territories and the military occupation of the areas.
"We agreed on the need to end this situation which can not last for long. Talks [between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators] should start from the point which it has reached," Mousa said.
Israel's Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon has repeatedly said that he will not negotiate the future of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, adding that the holy city will remain under Israeli occupation. Israel seized the eastern section of Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The current Israeli Labor government, headed by Ehud Barak, had agreed to partial joint-control of Jerusalem with the Palestinians during the Sharm al-Sheikh talks in late January.
Meanwhile, Jordanian popular organizations on Tuesday urged Mubarak to visit Iraq to break the sanctions against the country.
We hope "that you undergo a historic visit [to Iraq]… such a visit will make you one of the immortal leaders of the Arab nation," said the one-page letter, sent through the Egyptian embassy in Amman, addressed to the Egyptian leader.
In a related development, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived here Tuesday for a short visit in which he met with Abdullah and held talks on the outcome of U,S, Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to the region earlier this week.
Arafat also briefed Abdullah on the current situation in the Palestinian territories under Israeli closure as part of measures to end the five-month Palestinian uprising, which broke following the infamous visit of Sharon to the al-Haram al-Sharif compound last September.
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