Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday urged the Palestinians to resume talks with Israel without preconditions, the official MENA news agency reported.  

"I had phone talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei earlier in the day, asking them not to set preconditions for the resumption of talks with the Israelis," Mubarak said after talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami in the Swiss city of Geneva.

Both Mubarak and Khatami are in Geneva for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

Asked about his meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Wednesday, the Egyptian leader told MENA that they did not discuss in detail peace efforts made by Egypt and the Palestinians.

"It is imperative for the Palestinians and Israel to return to the negotiating table to exchange views on contentious issues," said Mubarak.

"Egypt had opted for the same approach following the 1973 Middle East War," he said.

A hope for resuming Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and reactivating the so-called roadmap peace plan has loomed following the formation of a new Palestinian cabinet in November and a lull in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The internationally-drafted blueprint proposes reciprocal steps to be taken by Israel and the Palestinians and envisions a full Palestinian state by 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2003)