US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described last week's visit to a Jerusalem mosque by Israeli right-winger Ariel Sharon as counter-productive, but said she had no immediate plans to travel to the region to help end the violence which followed his action.
Asked about Sharon's visit last week to the al-Aqsa mosque compound, Albright said, "It was definitively counter-productive."
"It is very important that the two sides try to find out how (the violence) started, but even more important that it cease," she said following talks with French President Jacques Chirac.
Albright said she had no plan to visit the region at this time, contradicting a statement Sunday by Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo.
Four days of violence since Sharon visited the mosque compound in east Jerusalem have left nearly 40 people dead, mostly Palestinians - PARIS (AFP)
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