|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
London Mideast talks to go aheadPalestinians to participate via conference call
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A conference on the future of the Palestinian Authority will take place next week in London as planned, despite Israel's refusal to lift a travel ban on Palestinian delegates. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will hold face-to-face talks with leading Palestinians and representatives of the "Quartet" group on the Middle East on Tuesday, Straw said. Straw said the absent Palestinian delegates would be included in the meeting by telephone conference call. The Quartet includes the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia. The talks looked set to be derailed when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced a travel ban on Palestinian leaders in the wake of Sunday's twin suicide bombs that killed 22 people in Tel Aviv. Blair made a personal appeal to Sharon to lift the ban, sending a letter to the Israeli leader through British Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles. But Sharon failed three times to meet the ambassador this week, and his office told London the ban would remain. In a statement released on Friday, Straw said: "The prime minister and I will next week go ahead with a meeting on Palestinian reform, and discuss with key Palestinians and international partners how to give new momentum to Palestinian reform. "This is an important initiative. The reform agenda matters too much for us to allow it to become stalled. It is vital to the search for peace. "I regret the Israeli decision to prevent Palestinians from travelling to London to discuss this agenda. "We are therefore holding consultations with leading Palestinians who are committed to reform as well as with the Quartet and other interested parties." Straw said the telephone conference would include senior members of the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian civil society, including the Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, Minister of Planning and International Co-operation Nabil Sha'ath and Finance Minister Salam Fayyad. Palestinian General Delegate Afif Safieh would be among the participants attending the conference in London, Straw said. In a phone call to CNN Friday, Palestinian Cabinet member Saeb Erakat said, "The fact that the Palestinian delegation will not be able to attend the London conference is an indication that Prime Minister Sharon managed to sabotage the conference. The Palestinian Authority hopes that Prime Minister Blair will tell the whole world as to who is sabotaging the efforts being exerted to revive hope and peace and to achieve Palestinian reforms." Other nations invited include Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. These are likely to be represented at the ambassadorial level, Reuters said. The meeting's agenda will be the same as if the Palestinian participants been able to travel to London, he said. "We will take stock of our next steps after the Israeli elections and intend to have a further meeting as soon as the Palestinian delegates are allowed to travel," Straw said. "We will help whenever we can to move the process forward and deliver security and justice for Palestinians and Israelis." Straw said Tuesday's conference would help the Palestinians prepare for the implementation of a "roadmap" drawn up by the Quartet to lead to full statehood. Delegates will discuss political, judicial, administrative, economic and constitutional reform. Discussion of the current violence will focus on the impact the security context has on reform efforts, rather than on detailed measures to stop the killings.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
