UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has welcomed an offer by Saudi Arabia to recognise Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from occupied Palestinian and Lebanese land, according to a SPA news agency report.
The initiative contained "some positive and bold ideas on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process at a serious time when violence has reached an unprecedented level," Mr Annan told Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in a telephone call.
Mr Annan said he hoped the move would "motivate parties to restore peace and re-establish justice" in the Middle East.
Crown Prince Abdullah was recently quoted in the New York Timesas saying Saudi Arabia favored Arab states normalising ties with Israel if it carried out a full withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
He said he intended to make his proposal during the Arab summit slated for late March in Beirut but changed his mind when Mr Sharon stepped up Israeli "oppression" of the Palestinians.
AFP