Albright: Israel- Palestinian negotiators in Washington next week

The US secretary of State Madeleine Albright has announced the resumption of Israeli- Palestinian negotiations by the beginning of next week in Washington.

In a press conference she held following her meeting with the chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat, Albright said "I know that the last several weeks have been difficult for Palestinians, and I know there are those who say that the negotiations cannot succeed in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations. Those voices belong to the past -- indeed they seek to perpetuate the fears of the past, rather than building on the hope and promise of the future. We now have before us a historic opportunity to reach a comprehensive agreement on all permanent status issues, and to end the Israeli and Palestinian conflict once and for all, and to create a better future for both peoples. Negotiations that take into account the needs and requirements of both sides provide the pathway forward. "

For his part, the Palestinian President called on the Israeli government to implement agreements signed between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, especially the recent agreement of Sharm esh-Sheikh and implementing of UN resolutions 242 and 338. He said "the Palestinian side (is) not asking except for one thing. What we are asking for is the faithful and precise implementation of the previous agreement that we have reached and signed together. And the last agreement was the Sharm-el-Sheikh agreement in Egypt, an agreement where Secretary Albright personally was there during the signing ceremony, as well as President Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan, in addition to two layers of assurances from the U.S. side and the European side that this agreement will be implemented."