| Author |
Message |
Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
|
 Fri May 07, 2004 11:05 pm Rice to Meet With Qureia |
|
| Quote: |
Rice to Meet With Qureia
Friday, May 07, 2004
WASHINGTON � In a move to break a deadlock in peacemaking efforts, President Bush is sending his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice (search), to Berlin for talks in two weeks with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (search).
The meeting in the German capital represents a probe by the Bush administration of the prime minister's powers and ability to open talks with Israel (search) and stop terror attacks.
It is an assigment normally given to Secretary of State Colin Powell, but there was no immediate word why Bush had chosen Rice, who also is one of his senior foreign policy advisers.
Arranging the meeting, the administration told Qureia that Rice would be in Berlin for talks with German and Russian officials and suggested it would be "an opportune time and place" for him to see Rice, National Security Council (search) spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"She will convey to him directly what the president has said in public: (Israeli) Prime Minister (Ariel) Sharon's proposals, if implemented, provide an historic opportunity that the Palestinians should seize upon. And she will also underline that the Palestinians have obligations under the roadmap - including to fight terror - that they must live up to."
The administration long has bypassed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (search), against the advice of Arab and European governments, and been frustrated by the apparent lack of authority of his prime ministers.
A senior State Department official, David Satterfield, said at a conference in Washington, that it was "not the U.S. concept to have Arafat return to the spotlight."
Satterfield also said Egypt had agreed to try to help enforce security within Gaza in the event of an Israeli withdrawal.
On Rice's meeting with Qureia, Satterfield said "maybe we should look for a Palestinian plan parallel to what the Israelis are going to do."
Responding to Arab and European complaints, Bush on Thursday urged Israel to withdraw from territory captured in the 1967 Mideast war and to turn the land over to the Palestinians for a state.
"What we must do now is take advantage of an opportunity to begin the process of the development of a Palestinian state," Bush said after meeting at the White House with King Abdullah II of Jordan (search). "And that's where the world must focus."
Bush also promised not to "prejudice the outcome" of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians when and if they are held.
The talks, which the United States, the Europeans, Arabs and Israel all say they seek under a so-called "road map" for peacemaking, are in abeyance. Neither Bush nor Abdullah gave any indication of a new approach to get them started.
At a news conference with the king, Bush did not repeat the assurances he gave Sharon last month that he supports Israel's retention of some West Bank (search) settlements as part of an overall agreement with the Palestinians. At that time, he said "new realities" had emerged in the 37 years since the end of the Six-Day war (search) - a clear reference to the 225,000 Israeli Jews who live on the West Bank.
Bush on Thursday reaffirmed his endorsement of Sharon's plan to withdraw all Israeli troops and 7,500 Jewish settlers from Gaza and to pull out of parts of the West Bank, saying it was a "bold plan" that could lead to Palestinian statehood.
For his part, Abdullah said Israel must withdraw to the borders it held before the 1967 war, which ended its 19-year occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem when it joined other Arab nation in fighting Israel. Egypt lost Gaza.
"All final status issues should be a matter for the parties to decide," Abdullah said.
Any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza or the West Bank should lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, the king said.
In what seemed to be a snub after the Bush-Sharon meeting, Abdullah postponed a planned meeting April 21 with Bush at the White House. At the time, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt declared that Arabs hold a "hatred never equaled" for Americans.
In the days leading up to Abdullah's visit, Jordanian and Bush administration officials discussed the king's request for a written statement that Palestinians who have lost homes and land would get compensation in an overall agreement with Israel.
But the White House visit ended without any word that the king would receive it - at least immediately.
Advertise on FOX News Channel, FOXNews.com and FOX News Radio
Jobs at FOX News Channel.
Internships at FOX News Channel (deadline to apply is FRIDAY, APRIL 9th, 2004).
Terms of use. Privacy Statement. For FOXNews.com comments write to
[email protected]; For FOX News Channel comments write to
[email protected]
� Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright � 2004 ComStock, Inc.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright 2004 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
All market data delayed 20 minutes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
Star Trek �, in all its various forms, are trademarks & copyrights of Paramount Pictures
This site has no official connection with Star Trek or Paramount Pictures
Site content/Site design elements owned by Morphy and is meant to only be an archive/Tribute to STV.com
|
Search
FAQ
Log in
