Cheney: no meeting with Arafat
Palestine-USA, Politics, 3/25/2002

US Vice President Cheney says Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has not yet done enough to halt violence between Israelis and Palestinians to justify a return to the region for a meeting with the Palestinian leader.

Interviewed March 24 on the NBC news program "Meet the Press," Cheney said an arrangement was worked out during his recent visit to the region "signed by both [Israeli] Prime Minister Sharon and Yasser Arafat" that the parties move forward aggressively in trying to implement the [CIA Director George] Tenet plan -- "such things as regular security meetings on both sides, sharing of intelligence, and denying anybody the opportunity to use their territory to attack the other party.

"What I said was if Arafat will actively implement Tenet to the satisfaction of [special U.S. envoy] General [Anthony] Zinni, then I was prepared to meet with Arafat. So far conditions on the ground have not warranted my going forward with the meeting."

Cheney added "Hopefully, Zinni will make some progress, but we're not there yet." General Zinni recently was designated by President Bush to return to the Middle East to help mediate an end to the violence.

One of the conditions Cheney said he wants Arafat to meet is to make a statement in Arabic to his people that the attacks must cease. Asked about permitting Arafat to go to Beirut to join in the Arab League summit March 27-28, Cheney said there is a division of opinion in the Israeli government on that but "we believe it would be better for him to be there," or otherwise the focus of the meetings would be on him instead of broader issues.

Asked about whether the U.S. is willing to commit U.S. troops, "working with Palestinians to guarantee Israeli security" in the area, Cheney said this a "tough question." He said that while the United States is "willing to do everything we can to be of assistance," it would be necessary first to "prove how the presence of U.S. troops would help. At the end, there must be a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians that both would abide by."

Previous Stories:
  Bush frustrated by Arafat's performance   (3/22/2002)
  Cheney: I'll meet Arafat is he implements Tenet plan fully   (3/20/2002)
  U.S. calls for complete Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian areas   (3/15/2002)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search