Cairo - The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Thursday called the
new Israeli foreign minister's rejection of the Annapolis process
'the first setback for efforts toward peace' under the new Israeli
government.
Addressing Israeli diplomats for the first time as foreign
minister on Wednesday, Avigdor Lieberman said the Annapolis process
had 'no validity whatsoever.'
'Cairo was not surprised by such statements that came from the new
Israeli foreign minister on his first day on duty,' Egypt's Foreign
Ministry said in a statement sent to reporters Thursday.
Lieberman and the new Israeli government's 'stance on the
Palestinians and on ending the conflict through political
negotiations is well known,' the statement continued.
The 40 countries that attended the 2007 conference at the US Naval
Academy in Annapolis agreed on the importance of establishing an
independent Palestinian state alongside Israel and called for
immediate negotiations on a final agreement, including on such issues
as the status of Jerusalem, borders and refugees.
Lieberman on Wednesday said Israel was not bound by the Annapolis
conference, but would abide by the 2003 'Road Map,' which called for
the Palestinians to rein in militants before negotiations began on a
final-status agreement.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that Egypt was
waiting for the reactions of the European Union and the United States
to Lieberman's latest statements.
'The opinions of these countries are important,' the statement
said, 'because they are Israel's allies and because they have
responsibilities and commitments to end the Arab-Israeli dispute
through a two-state solution.'
USA
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