Saudi Arabia, Other Arab Nations to Attend Mideast Peace Conference
By VOA News
23 November 2007
Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations say they have agreed to participate at the ministerial level in a major U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference next week.
Arab foreign ministers meeting Friday in Cairo reached a consensus to attend the conference.
After the meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Arab states agreed to participate within the framework of the international roadmap to Middle East peace and Arab peace initiatives.
Israel welcomed the Saudi decision to attend the conference. Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations.
An Israeli spokesman, Mark Regev, said Israel and the Arab countries must take bold steps for the peace process to succeed.
It is still not clear whether Syria will attend the conference, despite the Arab consensus. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said today that Damascus will not send a representative unless the dispute over the Golan Heights is on the agenda.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The United States invited nearly 50 nations and organizations to the November 27 conference in the U.S. city of Annapolis, near Washington, including some Arab states that do not recognize Israel - such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria.
Egypt and Turkey this week became the first two Muslim nations to confirm their participation.
Russian officials said Friday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to take part in the conference.
Israeli and Palestinian officials are trying to complete a joint document to be presented at the conference. That document would address core issues such as final borders, security, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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