President Mubarak's US meeting with Barack Obama restored warmth in relations between the two long-standing allies, but Egypt stood firm that Israel should take steps towards peace first, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington President Hosni Mubarak's first visit to the United States in five years, concluding in lengthy discussions with US President Barack Obama Tuesday, was dubbed "one of the most successful" by senior Egyptian officials. "The two leaders obviously have a close and intimate relationship based on respect, and the new administration has clearly recognised that Egypt is indispensable for its efforts in the region, whether in the peace process, Iran, Iraq and even Afghanistan, which is obviously a top priority for President Obama," said one senior Egyptian official briefed on President Mubarak's meetings with Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and National Security Adviser James Jones. President Mubarak last visited the US in 2004 when he met with former president George W Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awad denied that Mubarak took a decision not to visit the US because of discomfort with Bush's rhetoric on spreading democracy in the Middle East. Awad said the main factor was that one day after Mubarak met Bush in April 2004, the former US president met former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, and offered him what is now known as "letters of assurances" concerning illegal settlements in occupied Palestine and that include outlines of a final settlement clearly contradicting what Egypt and the US had agreed upon. In Mubarak's visit to the US this week, and after his third meeting with Obama in eight months since the latter came to office, the two leaders were clearly in agreement on the urgent need to resume peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, expressed joint concern over Iran's alleged ambitions to obtain nuclear weapons and its role in backing groups like Hamas and Hizbullah, and did not shy away from discussing what some see as "sensitive" issues, such as democratisation in Egypt and the need for political reforms. "We discussed the issue of reform in Egypt," President Mubarak said in introductory statements after meeting President Obama for 50 minutes -- instead of 20 minutes as originally scheduled, according to a White House spokesman. "I told Obama with all honesty, and in a friendly manner, that I took part in [presidential] elections on the basis of a programme that included reform and many other issues that we have been carrying out. And I still have two more years to achieve this programme." This was nearly the same answer President Mubarak offered in a lengthy interview with Charlie Rose of the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) when asked about Egypt's future and reports that Gamal Mubarak, the president's son, was being prepped to become the country's next president. Gamal accompanied his father in his visit to Washington, but was not member of the official delegation, according to a spokesman for the Egyptian embassy in Washington. Gamal also attended meetings Mubarak held with leaders of American- Jewish groups, and a group of former senior US officials, including former secretary of state Colin Powell and former defense secretary William Cohen, according to a former US ambassador to Egypt who took part in the meetings. When asked directly in his interview with Rose whether "you would like your son to come after you," Mubarak responded that this issue "was never raised between my son and myself". President Mubarak also refused to state whether he was planning to run for another six-year term in 2011, saying, "I am not thinking about this now," and that his main concern was to carry out the agenda he set forth in the 2005 elections. However, despite the restoration of normalcy in ties between the two long-standing allies, Obama, in his joint statements with Mubarak, noted that, "there are some areas where we still have disagreements, and where we do have disagreements we have a frank and honest exchange." That was yet another change in tone compared to the former US administration that preferred to air differences in public and openly criticise the Egyptian government. Obama described Mubarak as "a leader and a counsellor and a friend to the United States". In their joint press statements at the Oval Office, it was clear that one area of disagreement was over Obama's repeated demand that Arab countries take steps towards normalising ties with Israel in order to encourage Tel Aviv to make progress in final settlement talks with Palestinians. Obama said that moving the peace process forward would depend on "not just movement from the Israelis, but also from the Palestinians around issues of incitement and security, [and] from Arab states that show their willingness to engage Israel." He later reiterated that "ultimately there is going to have to be some courageous leadership not only from the Palestinians and the Israelis but also from the other Arab states to support this effort... Everybody is going to have to take steps; everybody is going to have to take some risks." Mubarak insisted on responding to Obama's request for more help by Arab countries, even after the US president announced that the news conference was over. He noted that it might be difficult to take such steps before receiving assurances that Israel would stop building illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem and that peace talks would resume from the point where they stopped in talks with the former Israeli government led by Ehud Olmert. Mubarak added: "I would say here that if negotiations started, this will give hope to the people that a solution is near, and all Arab countries, without exception, will help to make the peace process successful." He further stated that, "the peoples [in the region] are fed up with violence and the great length of this conflict and the suffering of the displaced. So I believe if the two parties sit down, this will lead to Arab states support for moving the peace process forwards." Mubarak also revealed that in discussion with top Israeli officials before visiting Washington, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and defence minister Ehud Barak, they expressed willingness to negotiate a "temporary solution". Mubarak added, "But I told them, forget about temporary settlement [halting] or temporary borders." Mubarak stressed the need to tackle complicated final status issues such as Jerusalem, the right of return for Palestinian refugees and final borders. However, he reiterated his appreciation for the fact that President Obama was keen to revive the peace process since day one after his inauguration. Obama had also challenged the Israelis by insisting that Tel Aviv should stop building settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. In earlier statements, Awad underlined that Saudi Arabia, in particular, would not be willing to take steps towards normalising ties with Israel as US officials have been reportedly pressing. Awad said that, "Some Arab countries might be willing to take some steps" towards having normalised relations with Israel, "but even that would only come after a clear freeze on settlement building, including natural growth." President Mubarak, in interview with Rose, also reminded all of the experience the Arabs had in the 1990s, after late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords with Israel. At that time, several Arab countries opened trade offices in Israel and offered Tel Aviv several positive gestures, but the peace process was sabotaged by the same Israeli prime minister now in office. Following Mubarak's meeting with Obama, Awad said he expected the Obama administration to present its long-awaited "plan" to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians "in a few weeks" -- namely during the upcoming annual General Assembly meeting at the United Nations that is usually attended by scores of heads of state. He added that the picture would become clearer following a scheduled meeting between Israel's Netanyahu and US Middle East peace envoy, former Senator George Mitchell. The meeting is scheduled for London on 27 August. But White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs sought to avoid setting a specific deadline to reveal the so-called US plan. Gibbs said the UN General Assembly meeting, due to commence 23 September, "will be an important opportunity to continue to make progress on comprehensive Middle East peace... but I do not know of any specific plan that the United States will present at that time."
