Musharraf, Ahmadinejad discuss Mideast situation

Pakistan's president called his Iranian counterpart to discuss the ongoing Middle East crisis and raised the need to push for a just settlement of the impasse over Palestinian issues, Pakistan's foreign ministry said Saturday. In his telephone conversation, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf informed the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, about his forthcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, during which he would discuss the "deteriorating situation in the Middle East," the ministry said in a statement. Musharraf spoke with Ahmadinejad on Friday, it said, without saying exactly when Musharraf would leave on his Middle East trip, although government officials have said he many begin his tour Saturday.