Arab foreign ministers agree to relaunch peace initiative

Dubai: Arab foreign ministers meeting in Damascus on Thursday agreed to relaunch the Arab peace initiative without any amendments.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mua'alem had earlier in the day hinted that the initiative could be reconsidered. "We agreed on maintaining the Arab peace initiative and there is no intention on the ministers' part to change it," Mohammad Sobeih, Arab League assistant secretary general for Palestinian affairs, was quoted as saying by Reuters. "The initiative will be relaunched to the international community in order to stress Arab concern for finding a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict," he said.

Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, described the outcome of Thurday's ministerial meeting as positive and said that a spirit of understanding prevailed in the closed session. "The session was very encouraging," he said in a statement.