Powell: we will play an important role in the peace process
Regional-USA, Politics, 2/26/2001

The US secretary of state Colen Powell who visited Egypt, Israel and Jordan and arrived on Sunday in Kuwait in a tour which covers several countries in the region, has called on Israel and the Palestinians to stop what he called violence and announced that US President George Bush will play an important role in the peace process in the region.

In a joint press conference he held with the Israeli prime minister elect Ariel Sharon Powell said that he thinks we have all to work in order to control violence. He described the conditions as very dangerous.

Powell regretted the angry Arab reaction to the US- British raids on February 16 at the outskirts of Baghdad but he gave "no apologies on that." As for criticism made by Egyptian officials on Saturday towards these raids, Powell said " I did not expect such a reaction, but we would have coordinated in a better way with the allies of the USA."

As for the US pilots who monitor what is called the " no fly zones" in the northern and southern parts of Iraq, Powell said " we will make every thing necessary to protect the lives of our pilots." Following his meeting with the Israeli President Moshe Ksaf, Powell said the talks cannot be returned back to the zero point in the Israeli- Palestinian negotiations, and at the same time it is ruled out to resume these negotiations from the point they broke off. Powell also called for halting the Palestinian Intifada and earned against what he called the escalation of conditions in the occupied Arab lands and the reflection of that on stability in the region.

Ksaf, for his part, asked the US for using its pressure on each of Jordan and Egypt to return back their ambassadors to Israel.

In the joint press conference with Arafat Powell called on Israel to lift the sanctions imposed on the Palestinians as soon as possible to enable the Palestinians to restore back life to their economy. Later in the day in Amman the Jordanian King Abdullah II discussed with the US secretary of State means of giving the ME peace process a push forward, lifting the Israeli siege imposed on the Palestinian people, and implementing the obligations signed between the Palestinian Authority and Israel as well as issues of mutual concern.

Previous Stories:
  Powell's tour,represents new US policy towards region   (2/24/2001)
  US administration changes ambassadors   (2/10/2001)
  Arab League view US role in the ME with great interest   (1/31/2001)
  Arab Muslim scholars message to President Bush   (1/29/2001)

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