Powell Says He May Speak to Arafat in Mideast Mission

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 08, 2002

Powell Says He May Speak to Arafat in Mideast Mission

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday he will try to speak to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "if circumstances permit" and urged Arafat to call publicly for a halt to violence.

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US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday he will try to speak to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "if circumstances permit" and urged Arafat to call publicly for a halt to violence.

Hours before departing on a difficult peace-seeking mission in the Middle East, Powell said in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he did not expect to achieve a peace treaty in this trip, but he would spend "whatever time and effort" is necessary to try to defuse the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

Powell said he had talked with Israeli President Ariel Sharon early Sunday morning. he said that although Sharon understood the Bush administration's desire for Israel to halt its military attacks in the West Bank, he did not offer a "specific time frame" for withdrawal.

Bush urged Israel on Saturday to immediately withdraw from Palestinian areas it recently occupied, calling on Arab leaders to support the U.S. effort for a cease-fire and a political settlement.

"We agree that Israel should halt incursions in the Palestinian-controlled areas and begin to withdraw without delay from those cities it has recently occupied," Bush said at a joint news conference with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his ranch near Crawford, Texas.

"What the president asked Prime Minister (Ariel) Sharon to do was to begin the process of withdrawal and to do it now," Powell told "Fox News Sunday".

"I'm pleased to hear that the prime minister says he is expediting his operations," Powell said.

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