United Nations, Sept 2, SPA -- Arab nations have formally asked the U.N. Security Council to acknowledge that efforts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict have failed, and to revive and reshape the peace process. The 22-country Arab League called on the Security Council to formally recognize the need to reactivate the Middle Eastern peace process and establish a mechanism for us to proceed on all tracks. A letter, sent to the council this week by Arab league U.N. Observer Yahya Mahmassani but not yet made public, showed that concrete steps were underway to resume peace efforts, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in Syria. At U.N. headquarters, Security Council diplomats said the Arab request was under study and no date had been set. Arab League foreign ministers agreed on the proposal at an August 20 meeting in Cairo. The league said on its website that the plan for ending the conflict should be based on past U.N. resolutions as well as on the basis of land for peace, and through establishment of effective and specific mechanisms for the swift resumption of direct talks between the parties. It said it wants the Security Council to supervise negotiations and set a target date for their completion. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton denied that the peace process had failed. He said not all countries in the region support the Arab League idea, and he wanted to know whether Israel would be invited to the proposed ministerial meeting.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/386523