British Diplomat to Meet Arafat Despite US Stance

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 03, 2002

British Diplomat to Meet Arafat Despite US Stance

A visiting British Foreign Office minister will hold talks with Yasser Arafat on Tuesday to reaffirm Britain's recognition of the Palestinian leader despite U.S. callsfor the removal of him.

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A visiting British Foreign Office minister will hold talks with Yasser Arafat on Tuesday to reaffirm Britain's recognition of the Palestinian leader despite U.S. callsfor the removal of him.

A Foreign Office statement said Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien would meet Arafat at his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah,where he is effectively under siege from Israeli troops surrounding the compound.

The meeting will be the first between Arafat and the British government since U.S. President George W. Bush called last week for the removal of Arafat as Palestinian leader. Bush accused the Palestinian Authority led by Arafat of being tainted by terrorism and corruption.

After Bush unveiled his new Middle East peace plan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has refused to back Washington's tough line against Arafat. Instead, like other European leaders, Blair said it is up to the Palestinian people to choose who should lead them.

Talking about the difference in approach by the governments in Washington and London, Blair's spokesman on Tuesday said Britain "will continue to talk to those people who are elected representatives of the Palestinian people."

"But that does not mean ... we do not want to see reform of thePalestinian Authority," said the spokesman.

O'Brien's trip to the Middle East, during which he would also meet Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, was in essence a "familiarization visit," the spokesman said, since O'Brien had onlyrecently taken over the Middle East affairs at the Foreign Office.

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