Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher in Cairo Sunday urged the Palestinians and Israelis to take steps to break the current stalemate of the Middle East peace process. 

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with visiting Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, Maher said there was a need for the two conflicting sides to take mutual actions to push forward the stalled peace march.

Maher said that he agreed with Svoboda on the importance of consultations with Europe and the United States on ways to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

For his part, Svoboda said that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories was complicated, and both the Palestinians and Israel should be committed to the so-called roadmap peace plan.

Svoboda arrived here on Saturday for a two-day visit to Egypt and left Sunday night.

The roadmap peace plan has been derailed due to spiraling violence between the Palestinians and Israel.

Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state in 1979, has been playing a key mediating role in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2004)