The pace of Irish involvement in the Middle East peace process was stepped up yesterday as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, held separate meetings with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, and the Egyptian President, Mr Hosni Mubarak.
The Minister is on a five-day fact-finding tour of Middle East capitals in preparation for Ireland's chairmanship of the UN Security Council next month.
Mr Cowen met Mr Peres for two hours last night in Jerusalem. The Minister had just arrived from Cairo, where he had a 40-minute discussion with Mr Mubarak as well as meeting the Foreign Minister, Mr Ahmed Maher.
In Jerusalem, Mr Cowen urged Mr Peres to meet the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat. Despite reports that the meeting was indeed going ahead today, Mr Peres would only say last night this was a "possibility".
In their private discussion, Mr Cowen put forward the EU view that a cessation of violence should be followed as quickly as possible by the opening of formal peace talks. There should also be confidence-building measures such as the release of revenues due to the Palestinian Authority and increased security co-operation between the two sides, which is recommended in the report prepared under the chairmanship of Senator George Mitchell.
Whereas the formal Israeli government position is that a seven-day test period is needed before the two sides can engage in talks, Mr Peres reportedly indicated there could be flexibility provided there was "100 per cent effort" by the Palestinians to end attacks.
In response to Mr Cowen's concern that the seven-day requirement left it open to any extremist to derail the process, Mr Peres reassured him that the key issue was the genuineness of a Palestinian ceasefire rather than any isolated incident.
Mr Cowen told him the Northern Ireland peace process had proved there could be no solution based solely on security and that progress could not be "held hostage" to the opponents of peace.
Meanwhile, the talks in Cairo earlier in the day were described as very successful, reflecting the traditionally warm relations between the two countries. However, sources close to the discussions said there was deep concern in the Egyptian government over Israeli actions.
The Minister told reporters after his meeting with the President that Mr Mubarak was "very concerned that the Mitchell report is not proceeding and very worried, as we all are, about the deteriorating situation and the need for the political process to regain momentum".
Tentative arrangements have been made for Mr Cowen to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Sharon, this morning. In the afternoon, he will meet Palestinian leaders, possibly including Mr Arafat.