The U.S. Middle East envoy has met with Egypt's president as part of
his regional tour aimed at advancing the goal of a two-state solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
George Mitchell held talks Saturday with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak in Cairo. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit also attended the
meeting.
An Egyptian state-run news agency (MENA) quotes Mr. Mubarak as saying there is no alternative to the two-state solution.
In the West Bank Friday, Mitchell said a "two-state solution is the
only solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He spoke after
meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other
officials.
While the United States has been promoting the two-state solution,
Israel's new government has expressed concerns about the idea of
Palestinian statehood.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors improving economic conditions
in the Palestinian territories over conceding land and other previously
agreed to aspects of the peace process.
He has also called on the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish
state. Palestinian leaders refuse to do so, in recognition of the 20
percent of the Israeli population that is Arab.
Mitchell is scheduled to wrap up his Middle East tour with a visit to
the Gulf region. He began his tour on Monday in Morocco and followed
with stops in Algeria, Tunisia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.