Egypt peace briefing at Vatican

EGYPT'S President Hosni Mubarak this week briefed the Pope on prospects for a successful outcome to the Middle East peace process at a private encounter in the Vatican.
Pope John Paul met with the Egyptian leader on Monday. The two men discussed opportunities for a new era of peace in the troubled region following the Middle East peace conference in Madrid earlier this month. Vatican officials said.
Sources at the Vatican pointed out that President Mubarak's decision to meet with Pope John Paul before Italy's political leaders highlighted the Vatican's key role in the international community's attempts to broker a lasting peace between the Arab world and Israel.
President Mubarak was later in the week expected to meet with French officials in Paris on the second leg of his European tour, before addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The Pope has long been working behind the scenes to help bring the opposing sides in the Arab-Israeli dispute around the negotiating table. The Vatican's disappointment at its exclusion from the Madrid summit is believed to have prompted the visit to Rome by President George Bush to brief the Pope on the talks' progress.
The Vatican has expressed special concern over the fate of Palestinians in territories occupied by Israel since the Seven Day War of 1967, and the status of Jerusalem as a religious centre. East Jerusalem has been formally annexed by the government in Tel Aviv.
As the only Arab country in the Middle East to maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, Egypt is an important player in any future peace negotiations.