CAIRO, 2 April 2004 — Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Kurbi denied yesterday press reports that a rift has appeared between the eastern and western Arab states after the collapse of a planned summit in Tunisia.

“The postponement of the summit has not divided the Arabs into ‘Mashreq’ (East) and ‘Maghreb’ (West) blocs,” Kurbi told Egypt’s state-run Voice of the Arabs radio station. “The Arab world will remain unified,” he added.

An opinion column in the London-based daily Al-Hayat yesterday said the cancellation of the summit, which was due to open on March 29 in Tunisia, was threatening to develop into a Mashreq-Maghreb rift.

“What’s important now is to stop the chain of mistakes, so that the Arabs do not find themselves faced with a Mashreq-Maghreb struggle,” it said.

Tunisia’s decision to call off the summit triggered dismay in Egypt and several Arab capitals, and Egypt has offered the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh as a replacement for Tunis as the venue of a rescheduled gathering.