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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Key Arab nations to attend peace talks


Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, right, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal talk during a press conference following an Arab foreign ministers meeting Friday. Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Noha El-hennawy And Jeffrey Fleishman Los Angeles Times

CAIRO, Egypt – Saudi Arabia and other key Arab nations Friday agreed to attend a U.S.-sponsored peace conference, a move that added a measure of credibility to Washington’s attempt to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict before President Bush leaves office.

The political guessing game over what countries would participate ended here when the Arab League announced that Cabinet-level representatives from its major states, with the exception of Syria, would travel next week to the summit in Annapolis, Md.

The critical nod came from Saudi Arabia, a strong U.S. ally, which overcame its reservations and indicated that Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal may attend.

“I’m not hiding any secret about the Saudi position. We were hesitant until today,” al-Faisal said at a news conference following the Arab League meeting. “As long the Arab position has agreed on attending, the kingdom will walk with its brothers in one line.”

Those calculated words capped months of shuttle diplomacy by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who urged Arab leaders to put aside misgivings that Tuesday’s summit would be little more than a photo-op by an outgoing U.S. president whose policies have failed across the Middle East. Rice persuaded Egypt and Jordan, and with their help, gained the endorsement of Saudi Arabia, which Washington regards as the decisive voice in the Arab world.

“This is a signal they believe this will be a serious and substantive meeting,” said State Department spokesman Leslie Phillips. “The Annapolis conference will show broad international support for the Israeli and Palestinian leaders’ efforts and will be a launching point for negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realization of Israeli-Palestinian peace.”

But the mood at the Arab League headquarters was more wary than ebullient. Diplomats attempted to burnish a united Arab front, but few were predicting the United States would put enough pressure on Israel to force lasting concessions leading to an independent Palestinian state.

Syria, an ally of Iran, did not commit to the conference. It has stated that it would only go if Israel’s return of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in the 1967 war, was specifically addressed.

But by late Friday it seemed that Syria was leaning toward attending. Syrian media quoted Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem as saying that the United States has agreed to add the Golan Heights to the agenda.