Brussels, 13/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - Information emanating from Tripoli states that Libya has officially announced that it would not be participating in the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Marseilles this week (where it was expected as "special guest", see EUROPE of 10 November, pp.9/10). The refusal to participate was explained by a senior official by the fact that the goal of the Conference would be to "integrate Israel in the Mediterranean area".
For his part, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia recommended on Sunday that countries members of the Islamic Conference Organisation (ICO) break relations with any country that transferred their embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He was implicitly referring to the United States whose Congress recently raised the possible transfer of the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The Saudi Crown Prince also called on the 56 member states of the ICO to take "concrete steps" in support of the Palestinians.