Spanish contacts with Israel, Palestine

European Union Middle East peace process envoy Miguel Moratinos said on Monday that Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar will make personal contacts with Israel and the Palestinian Authority before the possible announcement of a Palestinian state at the beginning of May this year.

AFP quoted Moratinos following a meeting with Aznar in Madrid as saying that the former pledged to maintain personal contacts with the two sides and initiate a dialogue and consultation with his European counterparts in this respect.

Moratinos asked Aznar to work for maintaining a common position by the member states of the EU before May 4, the date of announcing the Palestinian state.

Moratinos told journalists that the "May 4 date should be dealt with positively and in accordance with a futuristic vision," noting that Aznar has the esteem of both the Palestinians and the Israelis and has personal relations with them.

The Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has stressed its right to declare the establishment of the Palestinian state on May 4 in the provisional period of Palestinian self-rule, which lasts for five years as stated by Oslo agreement.