Cairo  - Saudi Arabian King Abdullah is to host a summit Wednesday in Riyadh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a bid to strengthen relations between the Arab states.

"The summit is seen as preparation for the Arab League summit in Doha," expected to be held on March 30, the official MENA news agency quoted Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki as saying.

Paris - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak said Monday in Paris that a ceasefire could come into effect in the Middle East "perhaps as early as next week," French media reported.

Mubarak made the statement after holding talks about the situation in the strife-torn region with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace.

The Egyptian president invited Sarkozy to take part in a conference on the reconstruction of Gaza to be held March 2 in Cairo. Both leaders have been active in trying to broker a truce between Hamas and Israel.

Cairo- Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak has said that Egypt is not bound by a US-Israeli deal to end weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip, in remarks published in Egypt's leading government dailies Thursday.

"I say that the smuggling of goods is the result of the blockade, and that Egypt is not bound by the Israeli-American agreement on monitoring arms smuggling into Gaza," Mubarak said in an address televised on Wednesday night and extensively quoted in the government-owned dailies al-Ahram and al-Akhbar Thursday.

Cairo - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak met Wednesday US President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, for talks on ways to secure a lasting ceasefire between the Palestinians and Israel, with the US envoy praising Cairo's efforts.

Mitchell arrived in Cairo on Tuesday at the beginning of a tour of the region. After Egypt he is to travel on to Israel and to the West Bank for talks with leaders there.

He and Mubarak also discussed the Egyptian initiative aimed at restoring relative calm between Israel and the Palestinians and the re-opening of Gaza's border points.

Cairo - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak on Saturday rejected proposals to base on its territory foreign observers to monitor the Gaza Strip, but said his country itslef would instead secure its border with the salient.

"Egypt is exerting all efforts to secure its borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip. It will never accept the presence of foreign observers on its territory. This is a red line we will not allow to be crossed," Mubarak said.

Cairo - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak called on Saturday for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the strip.

"I call on the (Israeli) leadership for an immediate unconditional ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip," Mubarak said in an address on national television.

In an affirmative tone, Mubarak added that Egypt is securing its own border with the Gaza Strip and will never accept any foreign observers on its land.