AL: No new roadmap until Israel executes first one

4/13/2005 6:45:00 PM GMT

The Arab League said that Israel should not expect a new roadmap leading to peace with Arab nations unless it fulfils its obligations under the first road map for peace with the Palestinians.

The organisation's secretary general Amr Moussa told reporters Wednesday, "If there is a clear and sincere movement towards implementing the first road map, there could be room for discussions on a second road map."

The so-called roadmap for Middle East peace is backed by the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, but has been effectively frozen since violence erupted in the Palestinian territories.

Moussa was responding to comments made by the Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom during his visit to Egypt on Monday for President Hosni Mubarak to use his clout and encourage Arab states to establish normal ties with Israel.

The League's secretary general said that in the absence of any genuine change in Israeli policy, "it would be futile to talk about another road map."

He added that Israel did not seem to take the Arabs seriously and simply wanted to extract out of them concessions without anything in return.

The Israelis "are trying to achieve all gains without taking any positive steps in the peace process," said the Arab League chief.