British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday that a halt to Palestinian "terrorism" was an essential pre-condition for a return to the "road map peace plan."
Blair held talks in Jerusalem with Ariel Sharon and other Israeli leaders Wednesday morning, then traveled to the late Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet PLO leader, Mahmoud Abbas.
Speaking at a joint news conference following his talks with Sharon, Blair, referring to the Israeli leader, said "I certainly have understood him to be saying very, very clearly - provided that the terrorism stops ... disengagement is not the last word."
Blair hailed Sharon's "disengagement plan," calling it an "excellent" opportunity to move back to the internationally brokered road map to Middle East peace.
The British prime minister said the Palestinians must end the violence, warning that, "Terrorism is not the way to a negotiated settlement, it is the obtacle to a negotiated settlement."
