Egypt urges US to be more actively involved in MidEast crisis скачать в хорошем качестве

Egypt urges US to be more actively involved in MidEast crisis

(16 Aug 2001) 1. Egyptian senior policy adviser Osama El Baz 2. Reporters at briefing 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Osama El Baz, Egyptian senior policy advisor "We need a more positive role, a more engaged role by the US, because the European role needs the reinforcement that could be provided by the US. The US is still the party that is acceptable to both parties without any reservations. And we don't want to squander this opportunity because if we do we'll be left with a very bleak situation." 4. Mid view of briefing. 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Osama El Baz, Egyptian senior policy advisor. "The argument that things, that the situation should be left to the parties themselves, has failed. Why? Because it has led to disaster. It has led to the continuation of escalation. The spiral of violence is getting out of hand. We believe the extremists on both camps are gaining support. The majority of the population there seems to be very sceptical about the chances for peace. And some of them here and there are talking about ...they're saying they're having second thoughts about the peace process. And some of them are saying 'maybe we were wrong'." 6. Cutaway of reporter 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Osama El Baz, Egyptian senior political advisor "If they are left to themselves, the result so far has been continued and uncontrollable escalation, a spiral that is getting out of hand. Sometimes I feel that neither party has any control within his camp over acts of violence because violence creates its own dynamic." 8. Various of briefing STORYLINE: Top Egyptian officials in Washington and Cairo on Thursday urged the US to do more to end the raging violence in the Middle East. Speaking in the US, a senior advisor to President Hosni Mubarak said Washington needed to be more engaged to bolster efforts in the region to broker an end to the fighting. Osama El Baz is in the US this week for talks with senior Bush administration officials. He's to meet Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security advisor Condoleezza Rice on Friday. El Baz told reporters he would urge his hosts to consider a stronger role, including participation in an international observer group to monitor the status of the ceasefire in areas under Israeli and Palestinian control. Egypt's foreign minister also called for more US action on Thursday. After a meeting in Cairo with US official David Satterfield, Ahmed Maher said Washington should have a more active role in making the Israeli government stop "its practices and threats and enter into the process of implementing the Mitchell proposals, leading to (peace) negotiations." The Mitchell report includes a cooling-off period, confidence-building measures and a resumption of peace talks. Maher also met EU Mideast envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos, stressing the need for the Europeans to do more as well. The latest round of diplomatic efforts has been spurred by the escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians and by the Israeli take-over of key Palestinian Authority institutions. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has called for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers. And Arab information ministers on Wednesday agreed to coordinate their media policies in order to spread the Arab view of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...