Saudi foreign minister sees consensus to revive Mideast peace process

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Arab countries have reached a “very significant” consensus after the recent war in Lebanon that there must be a new start with fresh ideas to the Middle East peace process, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Thursday.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in separate interviews with The Associated Press around the meeting of the UN General Assembly, spoke of the urgency for an “end game” that could give a glimmer of hope to both sides in the Middle East by resurrecting a process bogged down for three years.

At a Security Council meeting later Thursday, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa called for initial negotiations between Israel and the Arabs with a concrete timeframe, as well as a report from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the best way to hold those negotiations.

He reiterated the long-standing Arab demands that a final settlement include Israel’s full withdrawal from the Palestinian territory, resolve the problem of Palestinian refugees, and create a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem.

There appears to be a new dedication to trying to resolve the everlasting Middle East problem, not just on the matter of Palestine, but also on a comprehensive level including Lebanon and Syria. The Saudi Foreign Minister also sees the US as being fully engaged in resolving the issue, as another Associated Press article notes:

“There is perceived inclination on the part of the U.S. to forgive everything that Israel does and take to task anything that the Palestinians do,” he said. But he looked forward to the day when attitudes toward the United States would soften.

“There is, particularly during this session of the United Nations, no lack of interest on the part of the president [Bush] about the Middle East peace process. His whole speech, as a matter of fact, was on the Middle East,” he said, referring to Bush’s speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday. “And I think that shows a new concentration on not only the process but I hope substance of peace.”

Washington increasingly is coming to the view that peace between Palestinians and Israelis will help its other interests in the region, including fighting terrorism, he added.

This may also explain the reported ‘secret meetings’ between the Saudis and Israelis:

Secret contacts between Israel, Saudi Arabia

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel and Saudi Arabia have been conducting secret negotiations, the top-selling Hebrew daily reported on its front page.

“Secret negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” headlined Yediot Aharonot, reporting that contacts had begun during the recent 34-day war in Lebanon between Israel and Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Asked whether there were secret talks going on with Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted as saying: “I don’t have to answer every question”.

Olmert was quoted as saying, however, he was “very impressed with various acts and statements connected with Saudi Arabia, both those that were made publicly and others as well.

“I am very impressed with King Abdullah’s insight and sense of responsibility,” he added, when asked about whether he regarded a Saudi peace initiative favourably.

In March 2002, the Arab League adopted the Saudi proposal that would see the Arab world normalise relations with Israel in exchange for a withdrawal from all land occupied since 1967 and a negotiated solution to the Palestinian refugee issue.

[UPDATE 09/23/06:The Saudi Government denies any negotiations with Israel.]