Egypt and the United States demand from the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, to get down to work with his prime minister after the two reached an agreement aimed at resolving a leadership crisis, an Egyptian official told The AP Wednesday after a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Powell arrived in Egypt as part of a Mideast tour meant, among others, to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and to discuss with Arab leaders Iraq's future and the situation in.
Powell headed from Cairo to Saudi Arabia.
Egyptian presidential spokesman Maged Abdel Fattah issued a statement to reporters after Powell and Mubarak met Wednesday morning, saying the two had agreed Arafat and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei should cooperate.
Abdel Fattah added that the Egyptian leader had telephoned Arafat on Tuesday to urge him to implement his agreement with Qurei "with all seriousness and to continue contacts with the leaders of the Palestinian factions to contain this crisis and start empowering the prime minister and enable him to exercise his power according to the agreement."
In his statement Wednesday, the Egyptian presidential spokesman said Powell and Mubarak also discussed Israel's proposed Gaza Strip pullout. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
