"The agreement reached today at the Sharm El-Sheikh summit is a much-needed first step towards restoring calm in the Middle East. Canada applauds the political courage of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat in reaching this accord.

We express our deep appreciation for the efforts of US President Clinton, Egyptian President Mubarak, UN Secretary General Annan, King Abdullah of Jordan and EU Commissioner Solana in steadfastly working towards an end to the violence which has killed and wounded so many over the past weeks.

This is but one measure to get the larger peace process back on track. Canada urges the parties to this agreement to live up to the commitments they have made in Sharm El-Sheikh. Canada stands ready to provide any assistance we can to the newly created fact-finding committee should the parties deem it helpful.

We pray that today’s step will lead in the coming weeks to negotiations towards a just and lasting peace in the Middle East."