Bush Sent Message Urging Sharon to End Arafat Siege

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, September 29, 2002

Bush Sent Message Urging Sharon to End Arafat Siege

US President Bush has sent a personal message to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urging him to end Israel's siege of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

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US President Bush has sent a personal message to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urging him to end Israel's siege of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

In a report from Jerusalem citing a Western diplomat, The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Bush had sent Sharon a personal message urging him to quickly end the Israeli army siege of Arafat.

The newspaper, citing diplomats and other sources, said the Bush administration has told Sharon the continued blockading of Arafat behind barbed wire in Ramallah was directly affecting U.S. Iraq policy. The newspaper did not, however, explicitly say Bush had conveyed this in his personal message to Sharon.

The U.S. official denied a link between Bush's efforts to promote peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and his push to build a coalition against Iraq.

"The president has said repeatedly that he seeks peace in the Middle East for its own sake, not for any other diplomatic effort or policy," the U.S. official said.

Source: Agencies

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