If they can't stop a war in Iraq, the Arabs are taking measures to limit the repercussions. Nevine Khalil reports Intra-Arab consultations and face-to-face meetings were stepped up as the US appeared undeterred about going to war with Iraq. An Arab summit is expected in a few weeks -- hopefully before US-led strikes are launched against Saddam Hussein's regime. Egypt wants to prevent the war, but if that's not possible, then it wants to minimise Iraqi casualties and ensure that Iraq's sovereignty, integrity and unity are preserved after the war. "Our goal is to avoid a war in Iraq," President Hosni Mubarak told the media on Sunday, "and save innocent Iraqis if war breaks out." But "a huge question mark remains, and that is what will happen [in Iraq] after the strikes," Mubarak added. Mubarak acknowledged that the Arabs were not in a position to hold up a US-led military attack on Iraq, and that the US Congress, the UN Security Council, the British parliament and US administration have a stronger say in the matter. "Although we don't want it to happen, it's not in our hands," Mubarak said. Mubarak was speaking after a three-way meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, which brought together the Egyptian president, Syria's Bashar Al-Assad and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Mubarak also received Saudi Arabia's foreign minister who conveyed a message from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah; and a day earlier, the president travelled to Jordan for brief consultations with King Abdullah to discuss prospects for the region in light of the imminent US-led war. Meanwhile, France and Germany spearheaded a European initiative to postpone a military confrontation and work on a diplomatic resolution of the US-Iraq standoff. The joint French- German proposal would triple the number of UN weapons inspectors and back them up with surveillance flights. According to some reports, thousands of UN troops would be sent into Iraq to support the inspectors in their work. Mubarak will be briefed about the details of this proposal when he visits Berlin and Paris at the end of next week. The Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreuo, whose country currently holds the presidency of the European Union (EU), was on a regional tour last week and told his counterparts in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria that Europe "is ready to do whatever is necessary to help". Papandreuo revealed that there were several European ideas on the table to defuse the Iraqi crisis such as dispatching a European-Arab delegation to talk to the Iraqi leadership, or holding an Arab-European meeting of some kind to discuss possible means of averting war and seeking a diplomatic solution. "We still feel that there's a window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution," Papandreuo told reporters in Cairo on Friday, but the EU envoy stressed that the onus remains on Saddam to "convince the world that he either has no weapons of mass destruction or he's ready to destroy whatever he has. We need full compliance from Saddam Hussein." The second report by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix to the UN Security Council, scheduled to be submitted tomorrow, will give the Europeans a "clear picture of how much work to do to possibly get a diplomatic solution", according to Papandreuo. The Greek foreign minister down-played reported divisions amongst the Europeans about defusing the crisis, saying that the general preference is no war. He asserted that "right now, Europe is united". Cairo is encouraged by Europe's efforts and has pledged to do the same. "We will continue [our efforts] until the last minute. I hope that minute does not come," said Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher after meeting with Papandreuo. In a similar vein, Mubarak had noted that there are "many diplomatic opportunities [to resolve] the Iraqi crisis, but [their success] primarily depends on Iraq's actions to prevent or encourage a war". Earlier in the week Mubarak sent a message to Saddam cautioning against the devastating consequences of war in the region; he wants Baghdad to be "more flexible" with weapons inspectors. US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns will be in the region on 16 February, two days after Blix briefs the Security Council. Maher also said he was not discouraged by US Secretary of State Colin Powell's report to the Security Council on 5 February, where the US official presented evidence to the Security Council claiming that Iraq is in "material breach" of UN resolutions. Maher added that Security Council members have yet to decide what to do after listening to Blix's second report. "It's up to the Security Council -- not one country," Maher said. In Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Syria, Libya and Saudi Arabia, along with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, fine tuned plans for the upcoming Arab summit and how to cement a united Arab stand. So far, there is agreement that the Arab summit will be held in Egypt, rather than the Gulf state of Bahrain, and the date of the gathering will be brought forward to early next month from 24 March. Arab leaders felt that changing the venue and date would be more conducive to a successful summit. According to Mubarak, the changes were not made as a result of "US pressures". Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eissa Al-Than was scheduled to stop in Egypt on his way back from a trip to the US to brief Mubarak on his talks there. Hamad, whose country will still preside over the Arab summit in Egypt, had met with Mubarak on 30 January as he headed to Washington. Arab foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on 15 and 16 February to prepare for the summit and are instructed, according to Maher, to focus on discussing the European ideas and how to maintain Iraq's integrity once war breaks out. Moussa said that the agenda of the Arab summit is "precise; the Iraqi crisis and Palestine", noting that in order to prevent a war, diplomatic efforts must be pursued through joint Arab and international efforts. "The Arab leaders are very distressed about the possibility of war," Moussa told reporters, but he rejected reports that some Arab capitals were willing to "make concessions" to end this crisis. Sunday's three-way meeting between Mubarak, Al-Assad and Gaddafi in Sharm El- Sheikh also discussed the situation in the Palestinian territories and the options available once Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon forms his government. After months of damaged and almost non-existent communication between the governments in Cairo and Tel Aviv, Mubarak made overtures to Sharon last week that he is willing to meet and talk with the Israeli leader. "The central issue for us remains the Palestinian problem," stated Mubarak on Sunday, revealing that he tried to impress on US President George W Bush during a telephone conversation last week the importance of making progress in the peace process. Additional reporting by Soha Abdelaty
