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- <text id=91TT0844>
- <title>
- Apr. 22, 1991: World Notes:Middle East
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1991
- Apr. 22, 1991 Nancy Reagan:Is She THAT Bad?
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- WORLD, Page 57
- World Notes
- MIDDLE EAST
- A Few Steps Toward Peace
- </hdr><body>
- <p> After America's victory in the gulf war, Middle East
- governments apparently would rather be seen saying yes than no
- to Washington. Secretary of State James Baker, in his second
- swing through the area in a month, visited five countries last
- week to explore the idea of a regional peace conference. He
- received carefully hedged encouragement from Israel, Egypt,
- Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan.
- </p>
- <p> That was a triumph of modest proportions, though Ba ker
- pointed out that a regional meeting could not be arranged "with
- one trip or even two trips." The governments' long-standing
- preconditions are likely to re-emerge as they try to agree on
- who will participate and what the agenda will be.
- </p>
- <p> Arab states like Egypt, for example, contend that such
- talks should take place in an international forum. Israel
- insists on direct negotiations with each Arab state. If the
- conference does convene, it will have to confront an even more
- fundamental conflict: the Arabs demand the return of the
- territory Israel conquered in the 1967 war; Israel's leaders say
- never.
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
-
-