Egyptian and Libyan Leaders Meet for Surprise Conference

CAIRO — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak made a surprise visit to Tripoli on Tuesday for talks with Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi as Egypt cautiously extends a hand of friendship to its old Arab foes, Libya and Syria.

Mubarak telephoned Syrian President Hafez Assad on Monday and agreed that air links should be resumed between Cairo and Damascus. The first Egypt Air Boeing 737 flew to Damascus with a party of officials Tuesday, and the first Syrian flight to Cairo is expected today.

“It’s all part of the drawn-out process of getting back into the Arab mainstream after Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel,” one diplomat said. Libya and Syria are the only two Arab states that have yet to resume formal relations with Egypt, broken when the Israeli treaty was signed in 1979.

Kadafi praised Egypt’s decision to resume air links with Syria as a step toward Arab unity, but he also said Arab states have no need to exchange diplomats.

Kadafi, known for his eccentric pronouncements, was quoted by the Egyptian Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying: “I am against diplomatic representation and I raise the slogan for scrapping such representations between Arab countries.

“What links (Arabs) is more than just diplomatic ties. We are one people,” he said.

Mubarak, after receiving a 21-gun salute and an embrace from Kadafi, said: “I have come . . . for consultations and to exchange information in different spheres that interest our countries at a time when the world is experiencing many profound changes.”

Egyptian Information Minister Safwat Sharif, quoted by MENA, said the three hours of talks covered international and Arab affairs and focused on the need to forge a sound economic strategy for the Arab nations.

Political analysts said Egypt regards Libya as part of its sphere of influence and is trying to tame Kadafi’s zeal for revolutionary causes.