President Mubarak stressed that wisdom is the prerequisite to defusing tensions in the region, writes Nevine Khalil Click to view caption As events in the region spiral on several fronts, President Hosni Mubarak drew a clear picture of where Cairo stands on the rapidly escalating tensions. Speaking to university students on Tuesday, Mubarak reviewed a number of pressing foreign policy issues, at the forefront of which was the impasse between the Palestinians and Israelis. Mubarak described the current status of the peace process as "very complicated and very difficult", adding that both the Palestinians and Israelis must understand "the need for negotiations, because there is no solution otherwise". He revealed that there are several initiatives being discussed right now, "but they are not supported or implemented by Israel -- which further complicates the situation day by day". Mubarak reiterated that "oppressing the Palestinians through the use of [Israeli] military force is futile, and all this destruction and killing will continue for another 50 years." He urged both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to "sit at the negotiating table and create the necessary atmosphere to begin finding a solution". He added that the US was "doing all it can, despite very difficult political conditions. But Israel does not honour any commitment." The daily killing of Palestinians by the Israelis is certain to compound the impact of US military strikes against Iraq, Mubarak warned. He said he had explained this to the US administration, telling them that "if you attack Iraq while Palestinians are being continuously killed, and you kill Iraqi civilians in order to [terminate] one or two people, repercussions will be dire. No [Arab] ruler will be able to control his people's rejection of this action." He hoped that "wisdom" would prevail in the US, adding that not one Arab state supports strikes against Iraq, "not even Kuwait or Saudi Arabia". Mubarak also said that Iraq should comply with UN resolutions and allow weapons inspectors into the country, since its refusal to do so "raises suspicions around the world". Nevertheless, this does not mean that Iraq should be targeted and its people killed. "If Iraq is attacked, we are concerned that things will get out of hand in the region. What would we say to the Egyptian masses... the Arab masses?" Mubarak asked. "We reject the strikes because they would harm the interests of the Arabs and the Americans." The Egyptian president brushed aside reports that tensions were escalating on the bilateral track between Cairo and Washington, saying that "our relationship with the US is strategic and cannot deteriorate under any circumstances. Sometimes there are problems, but that's only natural among states." He described recent tension over the imprisonment of sociologist Saadeddin Ibrahim -- who holds dual Egyptian and American citizenship -- as a passing disagreement. Two weeks ago, President George W Bush announced a halt to new aid for Egypt as a means of protesting Ibrahim's sentencing, which Washington views as a move to curtail civil liberties in Egypt. "We had requested extra aid, similar to Israel; but [the Americans] said the extra aid will stop as long as there is an internal problem facing an American citizen," Mubarak said. "Sometimes our perspectives differ, but this does not sabotage our ties with the US." Referring to lobbies in the US hostile to Egypt, the president added that "some circles want to damage our relations but we will not give them the chance." Asked about differences with a state closer to home, namely Sudan, Mubarak described the Machakos Agreement -- which in effect sidelined Egypt's peace-making efforts between the leaders of northern and southern Sudan -- as "an initial accord, not a fully-fledged peace agreement". The Khartoum regime and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed a surprise US-brokered peace deal in Machakos, Kenya, on 20 July, which could result in the secession of southern Sudan within six years. Cairo has kept its composure regarding the deal, merely cautioning repeatedly against the possible division of Sudan. "Relations with Sudan are very good... and our relations with the southerners are very good as well," Mubarak told the students on Tuesday. "The only danger lies in the possibility that Sudan will be divided, because that will open the door to more secessions across Africa, which will lead to chaos. We are completely opposed to the division of Sudan." Mubarak also gave little weight to recent reports that Khartoum would attempt to renew its claim over the border zone of Halayeb in southern Egypt. "They talk about Halayeb, but we are not giving the issue any weight," noted Mubarak. "Rest assured that relations with Sudan are moving in the right direction."
