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Arab Peace Initiative for Mideast Adopted at Arab Summit

Aired March 28, 2002 - 11:10   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: That Arab peace initiative for the Middle East was adopted at the summit of Arab leaders in Lebanon.

Our Beirut bureau chief Brent Sadler joins us live with details.

Brent, hello.

Things seem to have calmed down a bit since we talked to you about this time yesterday, when the Palestinians were walking out and the Lebanese were blocking Yasser Arafat's speech piped into this meeting.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. We've had now a universal endorsement by the Arab League at the heads of state that were here. That's from 12 out of 22 here, and have fully endorsed that Saudi peace initiative that was proposed by crowned Prince Abdullah and Abdl Aziz (ph) last month, and the expectation, or rather I should say, the hope from Arab leaders is that this initiative, which as we know envisages the idea of full, normal peaceful relations between the Arab states and Israel, in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel from territories occupied since June 4, 1967.

Now it is expected by the Arab leaders that they will propel this initiative to the United Nations Security Council. It will go to European Union heads of state, and also it would be carried personally by crowned Prince Abdullah when meets with President George W. Bush in Texas next month.

Now Lebanon's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud spelled out the details behind this plan which is now being endorsed here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD HAMMOUD, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The council asked Israel to review its policies, and to turn toward peace, declaring that just peace is also a strategic option. And ask Israel, one, to withdrawal from all Arab-occupied territories, including the Syrian Golan and to the borders of the fourth of June, 1967, and the land that is still occupied in South Lebanon.

B, reach a just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees, which will be agreed according to the resolution of the Security Council 194. C, accept independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the land which has been occupied since 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza, with its capital, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: an important footnote from here in Beirut: a definite we've seen warming of relations between the Gulf states, notably Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. There was a behind-closed-door handshake between the Kuwaitis and the Iraqis, a senior representative here. And on-camera embrace between the Saudi crown Prince Abdullah and President Saddam Hussein's presidential envoy Izat Ibrahim (ph).

The summit here in that Beirut declaration demanding that the United Nations should lift sanctions on Iraq -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Brent, I want to pick up on the last point heard from that soundbite, and that is not just a Palestinian state, but as they say, a Palestinian state with its capital being Jerusalem. Different interpretation on both sides as to exactly what that means.

SADLER: Very clearly it's been said all along, with its capital as east Jerusalem, it means that Israel has to pull out in line with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. I won't go through them all, but it's certainly specified, they say, in international agreements and in addition to all that, of course, as they were referring to that 194 resolution, which I just referred to briefly, which is about the return of our Palestinian refugees, some 3.6 million spread around the world, about 370,000 of them here in Beirut, a right of return enshrined in that general assembly resolution, and the impact of that will have to be seen in terms of how refugees themselves think of how this is going to go forward.

Fair treatment for refugee, that's what has come out of this summit also today -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Brent Sadler with the latest from Beirut. Thanks very much.

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