Mideast status quo benefits extremists: Sarkozy
March 2nd, 2009 - 4:30 pm ICT by IANSSharm al-Sheikh (Egypt), March 2 (DPA) French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at the opening of an international donors conference in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh Monday, urged a swift and comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The status quo benefits the extremists,” Sarkozy warned, and called for a new summit to strike a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.
“We all know the parameters of a peace,” Sarkozy said. “What are we waiting for? A government that we like? The longer we wait, the fewer wise men there will be.”
The French president called an Israeli and Palestinian peace “a moral imperative” because of those dying in the conflict and “for all humanity”.
Donors gathered in Egypt are expected to contribute billions to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after Israel’s 22-day offensive in late December and early January.
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