WEF Official Welcomes Mideast Attendees

Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, gestures while speaking with a member of the media in the main conference venue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday Jan. 24, 2007. More than 2,500 business and political leaders, journalists, bloggers and celebrities meet at the five-day annual gathering to talk politics, economics and social issues in an atmosphere aimed at finding long-term solutions instead of quick fixes. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (Virginia Mayo - AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland -- The presence of key Mideast players at the World Economic Forum could provide an opportunity for progress on serious problems facing the region, but there was no sign Wednesday that the leaders even intended to meet.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said that despite the expected attendance of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and King Abdullah II of Jordan at the forum this week, expectations shouldn't be raised.

"Don't ask (for) too much ... that we are going to solve the problem or sign documents here in Davos," he said. Moussa said he wasn't even certain that the key players would be at the five-day meeting at the same time.

Nonetheless, the forum takes place amid a flurry of diplomatic activity toward reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is planning a three-way summit with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert by mid-February. And early next month, the so-called Quartet of Mideast peace brokers who launched the "road map" plan _ the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union and Russia _ plan to meet to explore ways to re-energize peacemaking.

The renewed efforts come amid a widespread feeling that the region is headed toward a broader crisis, as Iraq continues to deteriorate, Lebanon teeters on the brink of unrest, and the Israeli-Palestinian issue continues to stagnate with political problems emerging on both the Palestinian and Israel sides.

During the weekend, Abbas met the top leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, in Damascus. But they were unable to overcome basic disagreements that have caused severe tensions and violence among different Palestinian factions in recent weeks.

Israel, for its part, is embroiled in several domestic political crises occupying the attention of top leaders. On Wednesday, Israeli President Moshe Katsav, facing charges of rape and abuse of power, asked parliament to temporarily remove him from office in an effort to blunt growing calls for his resignation.

The U.S. and Israel are trying to build on the "road map" peace plan drafted in 2003 with staged steps leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel _ but other Arabs are skeptical about its viability.

The road map never got off the ground because of each side's failure to meet its initial obligations. But with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in a deep freeze since 2000, and the political rise of Hamas in the Palestinian territories, moderates on each side have found themselves with little choice but to start talking again.

"It's important to have an agreement that would end the conflict within the framework of the comprehensive settlement," Moussa said. "That's what we need, on the Syrian, on the Lebanese, on the Palestinian track."