Western officials secretly met with Arab opposition

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U.S. and European officials held secret meetings with opposition groups from eastern Arab countries in Morocco, official sources said. The meetings started on April 17 and ended on April 21, the sources said, adding that the media was banned from covering the talks.

The sources, who demanded anonymity, refused to identify the U.S. or the European officials who participated in the talks, but said that they are influential figures, including researchers, politicians and reporters. "This Arab-American-European dialogue was attended by men of integrity from the two sides with the objective of building bridges and pushing forward dialogue among civilizations, besides making efforts to ease the tense atmosphere between the East and the West," one source said.

The official added that the talks were also aimed at trying to understand the decision-making process of the two parties. "This does not mean that either side accepts the decision," he said. The sources said that both sides discussed a number of regional and international issues, including the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the situation in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. They also discussed issues related to culture and human rights, according to the sources.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8132