Arab League head urges 'serious' EU-US talks on Middle East

(LJUBLJANA) - EU and US leaders must talk seriously about peace in the Middle East at their summit here this week, Arab League chief Amr Mussa said Monday.

"I trust there will be a serious discussion about the prospects of peace in the Middle East, and on whether it will be possible as promised to have a Palestinian state by the end of the year," Mussa told a joint news conference with Slovenian foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel.

Mussa arrived Sunday on a two-day visit to Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

US President George W. Bush is scheduled to meet European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso in Ljubljana on Tuesday.

"We hope... there will be a viable real state by the end of the year. This is a question that should be addressed to him (president Bush), an appeal that should be expressed," Mussa said.

Mussa accused Israel of standing in the way of an accord.

"Israel doesn't seem ready to give anything or enter into a deal," he said.

"I think one of the important steps to face (in this situation) is for Fatah and Hamas to close ranks, and this is our (the Arab League's) task to achieve," Mussa said.

Saudi King Abdullah and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday agreed that the Arab League should oversee truce talks between the Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas.

Abbas last week called for dialogue with Hamas, which ousted his loyalists from Gaza in June last year, breaking with his previous policy of rejecting any opening until the Islamists cede control of the territory.