CAIRO, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abulgheit said Wednesday that the Arab Economic Summit that concluded in Kuwait yesterday was "successful" in approving the economic measures agreed upon by Arab states.
He said, in a statement to the press, that the summit did not issue a detailed resolution on the Palestinian issue, noting that it was preceded by a meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Friday that saw a "strong" Arab decision to discuss all aspects related to the Palestinian crisis.
Abulgheit added that the summit may have "failed" to arrive at a "detailed" resolution on Gaza due to some demands that Egypt could not accept, namely calls to put an end to the Arab peace initiative or reviewing it.
He said, moreover, that the spirit of conciliation prevailed over the summit and that what was now required was more effort to put an end to counter media campaigns, adding that "Egypt does not use such ways because they cause harm" and called on all parties to exercise self restraint in order to support the Palestinians.
He reiterated that counter media campaigns in Arab states "are not in the interest of Arabs," underscoring the important role that Egypt played in tackling this tragic situation over the past 60 years.
Abulgheit hoped that Palestinians would find a suitable mechanism of work once the international community began reconstruction in Gaza, calling on all Palestinian factions to unite in order to allow for reconstruction efforts to take place.
The foreign minister denied reports that the Israeli government had been given assurances by Egypt for preventing the smuggle of weapons into Gaza Strip and controlling borders.
"This is baseless and there is nothing written about this in paper between Cairo and Tel Aviv," he said, adding that the responsibility of controlling the Egyptian borders was one for its police and border guards.
He also denied that an amendment would be made to the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, and reiterated the refusal of Egypt for the deployment of international monitors along the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza.
As for regional conflicts, Abulgheit said his country would not allow the Arab region to "fall prey" to non-Arab interests.
He described the situation in the Middle East as "very sensitive" and that there was a "battle" over the region's future between major powers in the region, among them Iran.
Abulgheit said Iran was trying to make gains on Arab territories so that it may have the right cards to play with the US and the West over the Iranian nuclear dossier.
Moreover, he said the war on Gaza had not begun on December 27, 2008, but on July 12, 2006 -- or the war between Hezbollah and Israel, adding that the storming of Egyptian borders on the part of some Palestinian elements on January 23, 2008, was an extension of what began on December 27.
He said Egypt was an important international and Middle Eastern player and that "those who see otherwise must revise this opinion." As for the Turkish call for making the Arab League a Middle Eastern institution that includes Turkey and Iran as members, and eventually Israel as well, he said, "The Arab League is the house of Arabs and it is able to keep them together, and it is the axis of joint Arab action." On a different note, Abulgheit welcomed the remarks of US President Barack Obama in his inaugural speech over the American strategy of cooperation with the Islamic world. (end) nor.ez.ema KUNA 212033 Jan 09NNNN