Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called Monday on the United States and Russia to "act as quickly as possible ... to save the peace process" in the Middle East.
"We call upon the United States and Russia to act as quickly as possible, in their role of co-sponsors of the peace process, to save the process," Arafat told journalists after meeting Alexander Sultanov, the special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Palestinian leader stressed that the Russian head of state "gives special attention to the peace process and to the need to bring an end to the military escalation."
Arafat met Putin in Moscow November 24, when the Russian leader put him in phone contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
From his side, the Russian envoy said his country was working to "normalize the situation in the region."
Separately, the official Palestinian WAFA agency said Monday that Arafat spoke by phone with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan about the situation in the Palestinian territories -- GAZA CITY (AFP)
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