Barak upbeat before Moscow mideast talks

Barak8217;s talks in Cairo with Mubarak came as the West Asia peace process entered an intensive new phase with the start of fresh Israeli-Palestinian talks and renewed diplomacy.

Commenting on the upcoming Moscow talks, to be co-chaired by the United States and Russia, Barak said, 8220;I think they are going to be progressive and we are putting high hopes on them, so that we can solve a lot of problems in the region. 8220;I think that this matter is considered a joint venture for all the countries in the region,8221; he said.

Mubarak, however, reiterated to reporters his stance that bilateral peace talks should have precedence: 8220;These multilateral talks, it is such a long way8230;When there is a comprehensive settlement, we can find a way out in multilateral talks,8221; he said, speaking in English after his hour-long talks with Barak.

Syria and Lebanon plan to skip the Moscow talks, citing lack of progress with Israel. Barak stressed that the Israeli Government was trying to make progress on all tracks, including talks with the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.

Referring to Syria talks, Barak told a joint news conference with Mubarak: 8220;Our position is very clear, we cannot convey a political commitment from Israel to Syria before the negotiations even started. 8220;The two partners who negotiate should negotiate without any preconditions. We respect the Syrians, their dignity, their needs, and we expect them to respect ours.8221;

Barak says he will detail the Golan pull out he foresees only after Damascus has disclosed its view of normalised relations and peacetime security arrangements.

Progress on all tracks of West Asia peace negotiations should not be interlinked, Barak said. 8220;Our commitment is to move and try to solve all problems bona fide on all tracks,8221; he said. 8220;In regard to the Palestinians, I believe that we can and should move forward without trying to play each track against the other. If we try to do it, and certainly it seems to be tempting, it will end up with loss of trust on both sides.8221;

He added: 8220;We have signed the Sharm el-Sheikh accord and we are going to implement the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement 10 days from now8230;We are going to hand over some of the territories to the Palestinian people and we hope they are going to be committed to the agreement.8221;

He was referring to Israel8217;s agreement with the Palestinians signed in the Egyptian Red Sea resort in September. The two leaders also discussed the issue of nuclear weapons. Arabs say Israel possesses nuclear arms, a charge it neither denies nor confirms.

8220;The nuclear weapons are going to be tackled in Moscow. We have tackled this issue today but we cannot tell you exactly how the discussions went on, but wait and see what8217;s going to happen in Moscow first,8221; Mubarak said.