Annan Favors Early Visit to Middle East by Fact-Finding TeamUnited Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Monday favored an early visit to the Middle East by an international fact-finding committee.At a meeting with former US Senator George Mitchell, who heads the committee, and three other committee members, Annan argued that the committee should go into the region sooner than later, as they could have a calming influence, a spokesman for Annan told a press briefing November 27. Annan briefed the committee members on the current situation on the ground and offered the support of the substantial UN presence in the region. Michell responded that he expected to go to the Middle East in the near future, said the spokesman, adding that Annan and the committee members also discussed the technical support staffing for the committee as well as its mandate. The five-member International Committee of Fact-Finding on Middle East was set up under agreements reached at the Sharm El- Sheikh Summit in Egypt in October to investigate the causes of violence in the Middle East and consider ways of preventing the recurrence of violence. The three other committee members who attended the meeting were former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, European Union High Representative Javier Solana, Foreign Minister of Norway Thorbjoern Jagland. The fifth committee member, former US Senator Warren Rudman, was not present. The spiraling violence in the Middle East that has lasted almost two months has killed nearly 300 people, mostly Palestinians. |
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