Former President Jimmy Carter arrived last night in Cairo on the first leg of a visit to the region that will also include Israel, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
He met here today with President Hosni Mubarak as well as with U.S. special envoy Philip Habib, who arrived here last night for a brief visit to update the Egyptian President on events in the continuing negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.
In a statement at the airport last night, Carter, who was the architect of the Camp David accords signed in 1978, called Israeli settlements on the West Bank and Gaza “illegal” and said they represented an obstacle to the peace process. He also called for stronger pressure from the U.S. to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian forces from Lebanon.
Caster, who will remain in Egypt for a week, said he was here on an unofficial visit during which he would meet with several senior government officials. He denied a recent report that he might replace Habib as U.S. envoy to the Middle East.
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