Spain's King Juan Carlos is not taking part in an effort to set up an international meeting on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a spokesman for the royal household said today.
"There is no initiative in that respect on behalf of King Juan Carlos," said a spokesman, dismissing an Israeli newspaper report saying that the Spanish monarch could act as a mediator.
Israel's daily Yediot Aharonotsaid today the king, Morocco's King Mohammed VI and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan were working to set up the meeting in the southern city of Seville, which would substitute for a planned international conference on the Middle East.
Spanish government spokesman Pio Cabanillas said that there were no plans to hold Israeli-Arab talks in Spain.
"For the time being, nothing of that sort can be confirmed. Nothing has been decided," said Mr Cabanillas.
"However, Spain is open to any initiative that could help the effort to find a solution to the conflict," he said.
A European Union summit is to be held in Seville on June 21st and 22nd, but Cabanillas said it was "highly unlikely" a meeting on the Middle East would be scheduled for the same time.
AFP
