Mubarak: We Need to Move Fast to Final Status Talks
Tells U.S. Strong, Sustained American Involvement Critical to Peace Process
Time is Now: Abu Mazen Position Strengthened; Parameters for Peace Well Known
In meetings with top U.S. officials today, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called on the U.S. Administration to quickly re-engage in negotiations over the final status of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. President Mubarak met today with Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accompanied by Special Envoy George Mitchell, as well as Jewish groups ahead of Tuesday's State Visit with U.S. President Barack Obama.
In his meetings today, President Mubarak noted that this month's Fatah General Congress had significantly strengthened Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen's position as a partner for peace. It is now no longer possible to use the divided Palestinian leadership as an excuse for avoiding negotiations, the President told U.S. audiences. Urging U.S. involvement, President Mubarak stressed that the two sides cannot be left to resolve the fundamental issues of a final settlement by themselves.
In an interview with PBS's Charlie Rose due to air Monday night, President Mubarak also highlighted Egypt's "laborious efforts" to unify Hamas and Fatah, acknowledging that unity has to occur before there can be peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Defining the borders of a Palestinian state will unlock many of the other issues of a final agreement, Mubarak said today, adding that the Israeli government's recent acceptance of a two-state solution was a positive first step.
"Instead of saying stopping more settlements and we heard this many times, now for over ten years. And never come to a stop. What I can say is that we have to consider the whole issue holistically, to negotiate on the final resolution," Mubarak said in the PBS interview.
President Mubarak told Charlie Rose of what he called an "awakening in the Arab region." In Egypt, these changes have been fueled by economic liberalization under President Mubarak's leadership. Egypt has seen record GDP growth and falling unemployment rates, from 11.8 percent in 2005 to 8.6 percent in 2008. The media and broadcast sectors have been opened up to private investment; in 2009, Egypt was named the top regional economic reformer for the third year in a row by the World Bank.
The full Charlie Rose interview with President Mubarak can be seen at 11 p.m. ET on Monday, August 17 on PBS.
