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US Secretary of State Names Special Envoy for Middle East
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday that he was appointing a special envoy for the Middle East to help implement the recommendations of the Mitchell Commission designed to bring to an end the escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
"I have instructed ambassador to Jordan and assistant secretary- designate for Near Eastern affairs, William Burns, who is currently on his way back to Amman or In Amman, to join these efforts and make himself available to the parties," Powell told a news briefing at the State Department.
"Ambassador Burns will be serving as a special assistant to me for this purpose," Powell said, expressing the hope that the U.S. Senate will confirm Burns' appointment as assistant secretary in the near future.
"But until that happens, he (Burns) remains ambassador to Jordan with the added assignment (of) reporting to me and to the president on what we can do to help bring these recommendations into effect and then set out the time line for implementation of the confidence-building measures leading to the resumption of negotiations," the secretary of state added.
The Mitchell Commission, headed by former U.S. senator George Mitchell, presented its findings on the Middle East in New York earlier on Monday.
The commission recommended an immediate cease-fire in the region, a freeze on Jewish settlements and more determined action against terrorism from the Palestinians.
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