By Xinhua
Cairo : Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday called on Syria to help Lebanon achieve a national consensus on the postponed presidential election and maintain its stability.
The two leaders made the remarks at a joint press conference after their talks at the presidential palace here, stressing the necessity to safeguard the independence of Lebanon’s national will and realize its national reconciliation.
Mubarak underscored the urgency of Lebanon’s election of a president, which was postponed for the 11th time and rescheduled on Jan. 12, 2008. Mubarak said that the situation in Lebanon could lead to unspecified complications if it continues like that.
For his part, Sarkozy noted that France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows sincerity in letting Lebanon choose a consensus president.
It’s time for Syria to show proof of goodwill and take action instead of paying lip service to help solve the Lebanese crisis, the French president added.
Syria has been accused of meddling in the internal affairs of Lebanon, which Syria has categorically denied.
On the Mideast peace process, Mubarak said that the two leaders were in agreement on the necessity of following up the results of the Annapolis peace meeting held on Nov. 27 in the United States and the subsequent donor countries conference held in Paris on Dec.17.
Both leaders agree to mobilize the necessary political and economic support for the Palestinian National Authority to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people and to provide the proper atmosphere for serious negotiations to achieve their aspirations to set up an independent state, Mubarak said.
Mubarak and Sarkozy also expressed support to efforts made by the Pakistani government and people to fight extremism and terrorism after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime minister and leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party.
On Sarkozy’s initiative for setting up a Mediterranean union, Mubarak noted that Egypt welcomes this proposal, calling it as complementary to the existing Euro-Mediterranean forums and a push to the current friendly relations among the regional countries.
During the talks, the two presidents also tackled on bilateral relations and efforts to boost cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy and fighting terrorism, as well as enhance the economic and trade exchange.
Sarkozy arrived in Cairo on Sunday for his two-day official visit to Egypt, his first since assuming the presidency in May, after spending a Christmas holiday in ancient Egyptian city of Luxor in the south and Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.