Israeli President Shimon Peres has endorsed the “spirit” of an Arab peace initiative, saying it's an “opportunity” that can bring peace to the Middle East. Peres spoke Thursday at a joint press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheik. Peres cautioned that while he doesn't accept all of the Saudi-initiated Arab plan which “needs to be negotiated” further, the spirit of the proposal is “correct.” However, Mubarak disagreed with Peres' one-track approach – saying the Arab plan is not “open for negotiations.” Mubarak said Palestinians and Israelis should first reach an agreement through bilateral talks, before all Arab states normalize relations with Israel. His spokesman, Suleiman Awwad, later said Mubarak dismisses the idea of all Arab countries holding talks together with Israel before Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.
