Powell cancels visit to Germany after he was assigned to head to ME

An official at the US state department said on Friday that the US secretary of state Colin Powell has canceled a visit to Germany next week, as he was presumed to give a lecture on the relations between the two sides of the Atlantic, after he was assigned to head for the Middle East.

The official told reporters that Powell will not have the chance to head for Germany in the current conditions, noting to a forthcoming visit to be held by the US President George Bush to Germany in May.

The official expected Powell to visit Madrid where he will be meeting with his Russian peer, with the hope to achieve a progress towards a new agreement concerning the nuclear weapons and to convene talks with his counterparts in the European Union.

Another American official said on Thursday that Powell intends to visit Morocco, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories next week.