Commenting on the November Annapolis peace conference Ambassador Nabil Fahmy said:
"It was worthwhile starting the race." He said the Annapolis meeting, attended by nearly all Arab countries including Syria and Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel, was a small step, but one in the right direction.
Fahmy also cautioned that while some progress was reached in Annapolis, more progress needs to be made before the next meeting takes place in January, in the Russian capital.
"There needs to be some substantial move forward [in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks]," he said.
"Don't hold your breath," Fahmy said, adding, "Planting the seed is one thing and getting it to bloom is another."
One of the main stumbling blocks in the negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is the question of continued Jewish settlements.
"The settlements continue to be a problem," said the Egyptian ambassador.
Since the Annapolis conference in November the Israelis are apparently planning to build some 300 new settlements in the West Bank.
From Paris where she is attending the "donors' conference" of countries who have pledged to help finance the Palestinian Authority, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined the other members of the Quartet – the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia in criticizing Israeli plans to expand housing units in Har Homa, a suburb in the eastern half of Jerusalem. The mega-housing complex on the fringes of Jerusalem is to be increased by an additional 300 new homes.
'No one should underestimate that the core of the problem of this conflict is over land," said Fahmy.
On Monday Rice joined U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in opposing the plan, and expressing "concern."
"Paris was good'" the Egyptian ambassador said, referring to the donors' conference intended to raise funds to assist the Palestinian Authority. Indeed, pledges were made to provide the Palestinians with $7.4 billion over the next three years.
And in the spirit of trying to keep the momentum of Annapolis moving forward, U.S. President George W. Bush will make his first trip to Israel and to the West Bank in January to reiterate his support for a two-state solution in the Arab-Israeli dispute. The U.S. president will also visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates during an eight-day trip, from Jan. 8-16.
"The president's visit to the area is not negative," said Fahmy. "The president will be conveying a message that the United States is behind the peace process. "The Palestinians are frustrated at not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
Turning to the political impasse in Lebanon, now without a president since Nov. 23 when Emile Lahoud's term expired, Fahmy cautioned that the situation in the country was "extremely dangerous" and could erupt into chaos and civil war unless the Lebanese are extremely careful – and they get their act together.
Fahmy said his country remained highly concerned over what could happen in Lebanon very soon, unless the Lebanese managed to put order in their house. "The next two or three months will be crucial" (for Lebanon), said the ambassador.