Middle East political heavyweight Egypt has welcomed US support for the creation of a Palestinian state, but officials said the Arab state wants to see concrete follow up steps.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told
Reuters
it was good that US President George W. Bush had said in a speech at the United Nations yesterday that he envisaged a future Palestinian state.
Mr Mubarak, who has long served as a mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict, refused further comment during his two-hour stop in Kuwait following an overnight visit to the United Arab Emirates to discuss the US-led war on terrorism and the Middle East crisis.
Sources travelling with Mr Mubarak said Cairo was keen to see ways to translate US and European statements backing Palestinian statehood into a specific initiative.
They said several ideas were currently being floated to revive Palestinian-Israeli peace talks but Cairo was unaware of a concrete follow-up plan.
Palestinian officials gave a lukewarm response to Mr Bush's speech while Israel praised it as outspoken support for its position on terrorism.