King continues push for Arab summit; Netanyahu reveals secret diplomacy with Syria

CAIRO [MENL] -- Jordan's King Abdullah arrived in Cairo to hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on arranging a five-nation Arab summit on peace talks with the new Israeli leadership.

Egypt is the first leg on Abdullah's Arab and international tour. He is scheduled to head to Tunis on Tuesday.

Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinians are expected to discuss the renewal of the Middle East peace process in the wake of the election of Ehud Barak as Israel's prime minister. The summit plans have been hampered by the reluctance of Syrian President Hafez Assad.

Arab sources said the main obstacle to the summit is the poor relations between Assad and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The two have not met in nearly 20 years and Arafat is said to want guarantees that Assad will not use the summit to hurl accusations against him for making concessions to Israel.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that secret negotiations were held with Syria over the period of one year.

Netanyahu said he received a letter from former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher stating that Israel was not legally bound to abide by any commitment made by former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

"We didn't agree to any territorial comprises," Netanyahu told the cabinet during Sunday's meeting.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa met Assad and Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara over the weekend to persuade the Syrians to join the upcoming summit. But Moussa gave no indication he was any closer to bringing them to the summit.

Moussa described his meetings with the Syrians as "constructive." He told reporters he discussed "the peace process and all possible developments." He also discussed the issue of inter-Arab cooperation between Egypt and Syria.

Amr Moussa said he was disappointed by Barak's stand on a sovereign Israeli Jerusalem and the Jewish settlements on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Barak's statements "do him more harm than good," Moussa said.

For their part, the Syrians said they would bide their time. Sana, Syria's official news agency quoted Foreign Minister al-Shara as saying, "We must wait for the formation of a new government. A lot depends on that."

Al-Shara called for Arab cooperation specifically, "a strengthening of relations with Egypt in all fields."

Syria is the remaining holdout in efforts to organize a five-nation Arab summit to discuss the Israeli election and the expected renewal of Arab-Israeli talks. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians have agreed.

Lebanon, much of which is occupied by Syria, has agreed in principle to attend the summit, diplomats said. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud arrived in Jordan over the weekend for talks with King Abdullah. This was the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to Jordan in over a decade.

Lahoud was accompanied by Lebanese State Security Chief Edward Mansur. They also met with Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel Rauf Rawabdeh and Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah al-Khatib.

They issued a joint communique urging Israel to resume talks with its neighbors. The statement also called for Arab solidarity and a final regional settlement ensuring the Palestinian right to an independent state. No mention was made of an Arab summit.