Tuesday, May 24, 2005

SHARON: ACTS COUNT; PAPER MEANINGLESS

Agreement signed by Arabs not worth paper its written on: Sharon.
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that agreements signed by Arab leaders are not worth the paper they are written on. Although Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom is meant to be spearheading a drive to forge diplomatic relations with up to 10 Arab states, the premier told a closed meeting with a pro-Israel lobby in New York that he was deeply sceptical about the value of such agreements.

“Without offending the Arab world, it must be said that their agreements, declarations and speeches are not worth the paper they’re written on,” Sharon was quoted as saying by the Yediot Aharonot daily. “Anyone who doesn’t live in the region cannot understand that the words which are offered have a limited guarantee. What really counts is acts and deeds,” he was also quoted as saying by public radio.