Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrives in Moscow Thursday for talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin for talks on the Middle East and bilateral relations.
Moscow is the last leg of Mubarak’s tour that has also taken him to Bucharest and Berlin.
In Bucharest, Mubarak was met by President Ion Iliescu, whose government has offered to help international efforts to revive the Middle East peace process, said AFP.
The trip also aimed to re-launch trade links between the two countries, which slumped from one billion dollars during the 1980s to between 80-200 million dollars last year. Mubarak is accompanied by a large business delegation.
Meanwhile, Al-Ahram newspaper reported that at the end of Mubarak’s visit to Moscow, he and his counterpart will sign a “Moscow Declaration” that calls for “abandoning violence, use of force and weapons of mass destruction as well as a commitment to implement international resolutions.”
Russia’s first deputy at the foreign ministry, Facily Siredin, told the paper that Putin will present to Mubarak an initiative that aims at finding a solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
According to the initiative, a committee from Egypt, Jordan, Russia, the US and the EU will mediate to end the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, based on implementations of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
Meanwhile, Mubarak and Putin will co-chair a joint committee for discussing bilateral ties, said the paper, adding that sign several agreements to further cooperate in various fields will be signed.
The second round of the joint Egyptian-Russian committee was held in Cairo in 1997.
Trade between Egypt and Russia has reached an annual level of 450 million dollars and the two countries want it to climb to a billion dollars over the coming years – Albawaba.com
