(From L to R): Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmed al Jaber al Sabah and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani share a laugh prior to the 19th Arab League summit in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arab on March 28, 2007. The 19th Arab League summit brought together 17 heads of state of the 22-member pan-Arab bloc. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa said here on Wednesday that Arabs are ready to enter a peace process aimed at ending the Arab-Israeli conflict which he said is the core of instability and tension in the Middle East.

"The Arabs have prepared themselves to start a peace process to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, partly through helping the Palestinian warring factions reach an agreement in Mecca to end infighting and pave the way for formation of a national unity government," Moussa said while addressing the opening session of the 19th Arab summit that started in Saudi capital of Riyadh earlier in the day.

He added that the continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict required a change in the policy towards Israel whose practices paralyzed the peace process, but he did not elaborate the change.

Greeting the countries that took the right decision to recognize the new Palestinian coalition, Moussa called on the international community to lift the economic siege imposed on the Palestinian people.

Highlighting the Arab-Israeli conflict, the troubles in Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan as well as the conflict in Somalia, the AL chief said the agenda of the joint Arab action consisted of the strategic, political and security aspects in the region.

As for Iraq, Moussa said Iraq needs a political solution but not just a security approach.

Warning against continued division and clash in Iraq among its sects, he noted saving Iraq is the responsibility of Iraqis, Arabs, neighboring countries and the world.

Turning to the situation in Lebanon, Moussa vowed to continue efforts to bridge the gaps between parliamentary majority and the opposition to ultimately approve the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Kicking off the opening session at around 1:20 p.m. (1020 GMT) Wednesday at Abdulaziz International Conference Center, Arab leaders or their representatives from 21 countries met to discuss solutions to key regional issues.

No Libyan representative presented at the meeting. Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam said earlier this month that his country will not attend the summit, protesting its relocation to Riyadh from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptian Red Sea resort on Sinai peninsular.

Among the international guests invited to attend the summit are UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, African Union Commission Chairman Alfa Omer Donary and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

China's representative to the Cairo-based Arab League and Ambassador to Egypt Wu Sike also attended the meeting.

Editor: Yan