World leaders who gathered in Egypt for an international conference on Iraq focused on another Mideast issue early Tuesday -- the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.  

The so-called Quartet of sponsors of a peace plan known as the road map met for breakfast on the sidelines of the Iraq conference.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, on one of his last trips in his post, attended the meeting a day after holding talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Powell told Israeli and Palestinian leaders that President Bush is intent on moving "forward on the path of peace, to take advantage of the new opportunities that are before us."

The Nov. 11 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has changed the Israeli-Palestinian landscape. Israel and the United States had refused to talk to Arafat for what they said was his support of terror.

Even when the Iraq conference officially opened Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit indicated he felt the Israeli-Arab conflict was as much a threat to the region as Iraq's instability.

"Efforts to achieve stability in Iraq cannot be separated from strenuous efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East," Abu Gheit said in the opening address, calling for a quick resolution of "the Palestine question."

The Palestinians are preparing for a Jan. 9 vote to choose Arafat's replacement. On Monday, Israeli leaders assured Powell they will ease travel restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and take other steps to facilitate voting.

Joining Powell at Tuesday's early meeting were UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

On Iraq, the gathering of 20 world powers and regional countries, including many opposed to the US-led invasion, represented an acknowledgment of the need for international cooperation to deal with the consequences of the war.

While sharp difference remains on how to proceed, the participating nations and world bodies have committed to supporting the US-backed Iraqi interim government and finalized a draft statement.

In it, they gave strong backing to the Iraqi government's war against insurgents but did not set a deadline for withdrawing US-led forces from Iraq, despite a push by France and some Arab countries.

The draft communiqué for the two-day conference, which ends Tuesday, also says the interim Iraqi government should meet with its opponents to try to persuade them to take part in the general elections scheduled for Jan. 30.

The meeting brought together Iraq's six neighbors -- Iran, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- as well as Egypt and several other Arab countries, China and regional bodies such as the Group of Eight, the United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Syria's foreign minister, Farouk al-Sharaa, had tried to seek support for setting a deadline for the withdrawal of foreign forces in Iraq. But the draft communiqué allows the Iraqi government to decide when the US-led troops should depart. It does remind them that their mandate is "not open-ended."

For all its bloodshed, the insurgency enjoys a certain support in the Arab world, where many regard the US and other troops as occupiers.

The draft communiqué says the participants condemn "all acts of terrorism in Iraq" and call for "the immediate cessation of all such acts in order to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people."

In what could be the most contentious part of the conference, Iraq has said it will ask neighboring states to tighten their borders against the infiltration of would-be insurgents and to share information about groups supporting the militants.

Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said on Monday neighboring countries haven't pulled their weight against the insurgency.

"Certainly, some brothers and leaders in some neighboring nations did not do enough," Allawi said. "They should have tried to help us at a time when we needed help."

On his arrival Monday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari shrugged off calls by some Sunni Muslims for Iraqis to boycott the elections, set for Jan. 30.

"They do not represent all Sunnis. If they want to prove their popularity, the only way is through the ballot box," Zebari said.

In Baghdad, Allawi also dismissed boycott advocates as "the eventual losers," and said his government was determined to hold the elections on time.

France, which opposed the invasion of Iraq, had urged the conference to invite government opponents. Such groups are not attending, but Gheit, Egypt's foreign minister, said the views of the Association of Muslim Scholars will be aired.

At dinner on Monday night, host Egypt sat Powell next to his Iranian counterpart, Kamal Kharrazi, but a senior State Department official said only polite dinner conversation was exchanged.

No more substantive talks were expected. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Iran saw little need for a meeting in part because Powell will soon be leaving his post.

(Chinadaily.com.cn via agencies, November 24, 2004)