June 6, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24,1423

RIYADH, June 5: As peace initiatives in the Middle East gather momentum, Saudi Arabia has told foreign emissaries visiting Riyadh that the proposed peace conference should right away discuss the implementation of the “Arab peace plan”, rather than starting a fresh round of negotiations.

A large number of diplomats, including Javier Solana of the EU, the US Middle East envoy William Burns and King Mohammad of Morocco were in Riyadh during the last month as diplomatic activity gained momentum in the region.

The “peace plan” was adopted by the Arab League at its Beirut summit, and later also won the backing of the United States and the European Union.

Riyadh-based diplomats say that it has become necessary now to force Israel to accept the Arab peace plan, and implement it accordingly.