British support plan

Press, 27 January 1988, Page 8

British support plan

NZPA-Reuter London

The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, was assured of British support for his Arab-Israeli peace plan when he meets the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, today before flying to Washington on a whirlwind diplomatic tour. President Mubarak, who arrived in Britain from West Germany yesterday after talks with Chancellor Helmut Kohl and other officials, saw the Junior Foreign Minister, David Mellor, for preliminary discussions

ahead of his call on Mrs Thatcher. “President Mubarak outlined to Mr Mellor his proposals for an international peace conference on the Arab-Israel dispute and Mr Mellor described this as being helpful and constructive,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.

The Egyptian leader, whose country is the only Arab State to have signed a peace treaty with Israel, is due to visit the United States, France, Morocco and Italy, where he will meet Pope John Paul.

Last week President Mubarak unveiled a regional peace formula under which Palestinians in Israeli-occupied Arab territories would renounce violent opposition for at least six months while Israel froze Jewish settlements there and accepted a peace conference.

The Foreign Office said yesterday President Mubarak would receive British backing for his ideas.

. After his talks with Mrs Thatcher, President Mubarak is due to call on the

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson.

President Mubarak, accompanied by his Foreign Minister, Esmat AbdelMaguid, will then go on to Washington where he is due to meet President Reagan for the first time since 1985.

In Bonn, Chancellor Kohl said the European Community, chaired by West Germany, would back an international Middle East peace conference when it holds a Brussels summit on February 11-12.