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Cheney: Both Sides Responsible for Mideast Peace Mubarak Says Hussein May Allow Return of U.N. Inspectors By Tom Raum Associated Press Writer Wednesday, March 13, 2002; 1:19 PM SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt �� The burden is on both Israel and the Palestinians to end spiraling violence in their region, Vice President Dick Cheney declared Wednesday. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak promised to also apply pressure. The two met as the cycle of violence increased, with the biggest Israel offensive in the West Bank and Gaza regions since the 1967 war. Both Mubarak and Cheney condemned the rise in violence. When asked whether the United States felt the burden for restoring peace had shifted over the past few days from Arafat to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Cheney said: "The burden is on both parties to bring an end to the violence." The answer further emphasizes a recent shift in U.S. policy away from mostly blaming the violence on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Mubarak also told a joint news conference with Cheney that he believes Iraq's Saddam Hussein is close to agreeing to allow the return of U.N. weapons inspectors, although he gave no details. Arafat cautioned against U.S. plans to use military force against Iraq, saying all diplomatic channels should be exhausted first. Cheney also praised Tuesday's United Nations resolution calling for establishment of a Palestinian state. That confirms President Bush's vision of "two sovereign states able to reside in peace with one another," Cheney said. The vice president, who is on an 11-nation tour of the Middle East, said that U.S. leaders "plan to do everything we can to persuade both parties it's time for the violence to end." "We appreciate Egypt's leadership on behalf of peace in the Middle East. President Mubarak has been unfaltering in his dedication to getting all parties back to the negotiating table, and back on the path toward peace," he added. Mubarak said he and Cheney agreed that extensive efforts are needed to get the derailed peace process back on track." Cheney came to the Middle East seeking support for tougher action against Iraq, possibly even military action to topple Saddam. But that part of the mission has been overshadowed by the rising cycle of Palestinian suicide bombings and increasingly fierce Israeli reprisals. Furthermore, the first two Arab counties on his trip � Jordan and Egypt, close U.S. allies on most other foreign policy issues � have publicly criticized plans for military action in Iraq. Mubarak suggested that, before even considering military action, Iraq should be given a final chance to comply with U.N. resolutions and to allow weapons inspectors to return. Iraqi envoys will be told "this is a must," Mubarak said. "I think he's going to accept the inspectors," Mubarak said of Saddam, but without going into any detail. Cheney and other Bush administration officials have said that any new inspection regime must be totally without conditions, a requirement Cheney repeated in his meetings in the Middle East A day before Cheney came to this Egyptian resort city at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, he met in Jordan with King Abdullah II, who urged a more active U.S. role in ending the Israeli-Palestinian violence. U.S. officials suggested that the recent surge in violence hasn't made Cheney's job any easier, and that talks on ending the Israeli-Palestinian violence are now occupying a large part of his agenda. In fact, just as Cheney was arriving in the region, Israel launched the biggest offensive in the West Bank and Gaza since the 1967 Middle East war. The timing by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon didn't go unnoticed by the Cheney party. "He did not coordinate his actions with" Cheney, said a senior administration official who briefed reporters here on the condition of anonymity. Cheney will meet with Anthony Zinni, President Bush's special envoy to the Middle East, in Israel early next week. The vice president has not ruled out engaging in joint peacekeeping appeals with Zinni in Israel, the senior official said. Cheney's first stop in Sharm el-Sheikh was at a multinational peacekeeping outpost set up to help monitor enforcement of the 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. "This region is both the site of many conflicts and one of the critical centers of American interest � economic, military and political," Cheney said. "Our country is engaged in the Middle East as a force for stability and long-term peace." Some 865 Americans are part of the 1,800-member, 11-nation force, part of which serve here and the rest near the border with Israel. Most of the U.S. troops here are members of the Arkansas National Guard, sent to relieve regular Army members after the September attacks in the United States. "This war will end when we and our allies have delivered justice � in full measure � and no terrorist group or government can threaten the peace of the world," Cheney said. The vice president and his wife, Lynne, later ate lunch in a camp mess hall with the troops. Although Cheney got a cordial welcome from Abdullah on his stop in Jordan, he was told that expanding the terrorism war to Iraq could destabilize the region � and undermine gains in Afghanistan. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Try FREE Yahoo! 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