Abdullah, Pelosi Discuss ME
Javid Hassan, Arab News
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah holds
talks with US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at his
Janadriya ranch on Wednesday. (SPA)
RIYADH, 5 April 2007 � US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met
here last night with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah for talks aimed at reviving the Middle
East peace process.
Her visit to the Saudi capital came in the wake of her
controversial meeting with Syrian President Bashar
Assad. The California Democrat delivered a message to
Bashar from Israel that it was ready to hold peace talks
with Syria provided it stops arming the insurgents in
Lebanon. Syria denies that it funnels arms to Hezbollah.
Pelosi�s trip has angered the Bush administration, which
accused the Democrats of sending mixed signals to Syria,
listed by the US State Department as a state sponsor of
terrorism.
Pelosi is the most senior US official to visit Syria in
more than two years. The White House called her trip to
Damascus a bad idea.
�We were very pleased with the reassurances we received
from (Bashar) that he was ready to resume the peace
process,� Pelosi said after her meeting with Bashar in
Damascus. �He was ready to engage in negotiations ...
with Israel.�
Saudi
Ambassador to the US Adel Al-Jubair and senior officials
from the Shoura Council and the Foreign Ministry greeted
Pelosi at the airport in Riyadh last night.
Melisa Ford, press attach� at the US Embassy in Riyadh,
told Arab News that the meeting took place at the king�s
ranch just outside of the capital. Pelosi is scheduled
to visit members of the Shoura Council, the Kingdom�s
appointed consultative body. Although she would not say
what the topic of the discussion would be, her talks are
likely to touch on the Arab League summit last week
where the Saudi peace initiative was relaunched.
A Saudi official told The Associated Press earlier
yesterday that Israel must accept the terms of the peace
initiative before Saudi Arabia would come to the table.
The initiative stipulates that in exchange for full
recognition as a Middle East neighbor, Israel must roll
back to pre-1967 boundaries and allow a Palestinian
state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinian
refugees� right to return to their homes in Israel is a
major sticking point, and Israel wants recognition of
its right to exist as a precursor to any negotiations.
Syria wants the return of the Golan Heights, captured by
Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Pelosi said Bashar told her he was also ready for
negotiations with Israel.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem said that Syria
was ready to resume talks with Israel based on an Arab
peace plan calling for Israeli withdrawal from all Arab
lands for peace adopted at a summit last month.
�They said that Olmert is ready for peace with Syria. We
replied that Syria is ready for peace according to the
Arab initiative,� he told reporters. Peace talks between
Syria and Israel, centered on normal ties in return for
the Golan Heights, collapsed in 2000.
An Israeli government official said that during a visit
to Israel before her Syria trip, Pelosi had asked Olmert
if he had any message to give to Bashar.
�The prime minister said Israel is interested in peace
with Syria, but Syria would first have to abandon the
path of terror and providing support for terrorist
groups,� the official said.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said yesterday
that Israeli leaders were sending out �mixed signals� on
whether they were serious about peace in the Middle
East.
� With input from agencies
Source:
Arab News
