The European Union and Arab ministers appeared upbeat at the end of their meeting in Finland, though little that is tangible grounds their optimism, writes Doaa El-Bey At the end of a two-day Euro Mediterranean meeting in Tampere, Finland, European Union and Arab leaders expressed hope of a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process. Both the Arab delegations and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni committed themselves to not permitting this opportunity to slip away. Their hopes were based on latest developments, including a Hamas-declared ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire came into effect Sunday, with Israeli troops withdrawing from the Strip the same day. Hopes also stemmed from the declaration made by Hamas's political leader, Khaled Meshaal, during a visit to Cairo early this week that Hamas was ready to agree to a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, if it could be achieved within six months. The absence of clearly detailed timeframes dogged Israeli- Palestinian peace talks in the past. Much appears pending on the formation of a Palestinian national unity government that would be internationally accepted and would meet the three conditions set by Israel and the international community to revive the peace process: recognising Israel, forswearing violence, and honouring existing peace deals. For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded with a series of proposals, including intimations about quitting the West Bank. Major points of difference between the Palestinians and Israel are still present, however. Israel is still calling for the isolation of Hamas, although any national unity government is certain to include Hamas members. Livni said at a news conference in Tampere Monday that lasting peace could only come if the international community reached out to moderate Palestinians, isolating radicals such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. A diplomat who attended the meeting said the Hamas statement and Olmert's proposals could be regarded as a concession but that again, time is the important factor. "Most of the ministers focussed on the importance of speed in resolving pending Israeli-Palestinian issues," he added. On the Palestinian side, negotiations have been ongoing for months on forming a national unity government. Nabil Shaath, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's special envoy to Tampere, said it "would take another two weeks or so" to form this government. While every effort is being exerted to form this government as soon as possible, in order to stabilise the Palestinian political situation, last-minute differences between Fatah and Hamas could postpone its formation and potentially scupper hopes for peace. "Speed in forming the unity government is very important. Recent days witnessed self-restraint and an end to confrontation. However, this situation can be seriously threatened if the government is not formed quickly," the diplomat said. Not all responsibility, however, was placed on the Palestinians. The Tampere meeting cast light on the deficient role played by the international community in reviving peace talks in the Middle East. It underlined the dire need for a more active role of the Quartet -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations --in order to monitor the ceasefire and encourage all parties to stick to their commitments. The Quartet has been fruitlessly pushing the "roadmap" plan introduced by President Bush for years. Javier Solana, EU foreign affairs chief, acknowledged after the meeting: "the Quartet can monitor things by looking and seeing how things are on the ground... it has a very fundamental responsibility at this point in time." At the meeting the EU urged pivotal Arab states to work more towards peace. Solana urged Syria to join in the effort and cooperate in the solution of several problems in which it can have influence, including Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian Hamas movement. The meeting, which brought together EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Turkey and Tunisia, came after nine chaotic months of a Hamas-led Palestinian government and a five-week war between Israel and Lebanon. The EU, Israel and the United States have boycotted the Hamas government since it took office in March. In a separate development in Tampere, Turkey's European Union membership ambitions were thrown into doubt Monday after the failure of last-ditch negotiations aimed at resolving a dispute between Ankara and Cyprus. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja told reporters following separate meetings with his Turkish and Cypriot counterparts, Abdullah Gul and George Lillikas, that an agreement could not be reached. The European Commission will now consider whether to recommend partial suspension of Ankara's membership talks until further notice. EU foreign ministers are expected to take a decision on the next step for Turkey when they meet 11 December.
