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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mubarak Wants U.S. Help to Put Summit Together

Aired March 06, 2002 - 06:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Eighteen months of violence in the Middle East has claimed more than 1,200 lives and resulted in new calls for peace. Our White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace looks at the role Egypt is playing in this peace process.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came to the White House looking for help for his plan to bring the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for a summit. President Bush called Mr. Mubarak's offer meaningful, but added this...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... but I want to remind everybody that it's going to be difficult to achieve any kind of peace so long as there is a cycle of violence.

WALLACE: Mr. Bush, for his part, continues to call on the Palestinians to do more to stop attacks against Israelis, while President Mubarak also puts some of the onus on the Sharon government.

HOSNI MUBARAK, PRESIDENT OF EGYPT: The siege of towns and villages, the demolition of houses, the collective punishment that make progress more difficult should stop.

WALLACE: The two men publicly praised another plan, this one pushed by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, calling for Arab nations to have full diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for Israel withdrawing to the borders which existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

MUBARAK: This is the first time in the history of the Saudis that they could say we are ready to normalize relation with Israel in case peace prevails.

WALLACE: The Egyptian leader's visit, a chance to encourage the U.S. to get more involved in the Middle East. One former Clinton administration official said, "It is imperative the U.S. send a top official back to the region now."

JAMES STEINBERG, FMR. CLINTON DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Shuttling back and forth doesn't always produce success, but unless the parties have some new factor in the equation, we've seen that neither side seems to be able to break out of this cycle. WALLACE (on camera): To that end, President Bush said he stands ready to send U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni back to the Middle East, quote, "... when appropriate," which U.S. officials say is when the violence starts coming down.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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