Egypt''s U.N. ambassador said Wednesday that representatives of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas agreed to meet separately with Egyptian officials Thursday for talks on the Gaza crisis.
Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz told reporters that "representatives of all sides" planned to send technical delegations to Cairo to discuss an Egyptian-French initiative to end the fighting in Gaza.
He said the delegations would each meet with Egyptian officials, but the parties would not necessarily sit down in the same room together.
Details of the plan aren''t clear, but the initiative calls for a limited cease-fire in the Israeli-Hamas fighting to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit confirmed that the Islamic militant group Hamas had been invited, but added that "if they come" their representatives will not meet in the same room as Israel''s.
"There will be an Israeli team coming to Cairo. I will not go beyond" that, Gheit said. It will be "a meeting between the Egyptians and Israelis, but not between the Israelis and Hamas," he said.
Israel regards Hamas as a terrorist group and refuses to negotiate with it. Officials in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert''s office refused to comment on the Egyptian announcement.
They referred to a statement from Olmert''s office earlier Wednesday thanking Egypt and France for their truce efforts and welcoming a dialogue between Egyptian and Israeli officials.
A second statement said a meeting had been arranged between Israeli and Egyptian officials. Meetings with Palestinians were not mentioned in either statement.
Tajikistan sends humanitarian aid to the flood-affected Kazakhstan
Tajikistan presents its tourism opportunities at High-Level Tourism Policy Forum in Korea
Tajik, Kyrgyz border services make joint statement
Russia to be with Taliban along the way? Russia preparing to recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan
Iranian media reports say three drones downed after explosions heard in Isfahan
Many regions in Russia impose more and more restrictions on the types of jobs migrants can hold
USAID launches a new US$18 million initiative to boost economic growth in Tajikistan
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan sign the Allied Relations Treaty
Tajik, Uzbek leaders discuss issues of expanding bilateral cooperation between their countries
Tajik-Uzbek Investment Company plans to finance implementation of 14 projects with a total worth of US$135 million
All news
Авторизуйтесь, пожалуйста