Acting Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami is to discuss the situation in the Palestinian territories with his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine Monday in the first of a series of talks with western officials, the French foreign ministry announced.
Later Monday, Ben Ami will meet Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov who is in Paris accompanying President Vladimir Putin on an official visit and the European Union high representative for foreign and security policy Javier Solana.
Ben Ami is scheduled to travel to London Tuesday for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, before flying on to Washington where he will meet US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
In his discussions he will stress that Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat "should respect the arrangements of Sharm el-Sheikh," which calls for a halt to the violence in the Palestinian territories, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Moshe Bebby said Saturday.
Ben Ami will also stress his country's opposition to what it calls "any unilateral measure" -- meaning the declaration of an independent Palestinian state – PARIS (AFP)
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