Powell Urged Not to Meet Accord Officials
By MARK LAVIE
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's vice premier says Colin
Powell should not meet organizers of an unofficial
Mideast peace treaty, arguing the Secretary of State
would not help the actual peace process.
Launched Monday in Geneva, the informal agreement was
the result of three years of talks between former
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators working in private
without representing their governments.
The U.S. government has been generally supportive of
the unofficial Geneva initiative, while insisting that
the "road map" peace plan is the only one on the table.
Powell said he would go ahead with a meeting the
unofficial plan's architects. The meeting would not
contradict the U.S. commitment to the "road map"
outlining the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said.
"I don't know why I or anyone else in the U.S.
government should deny ourselves the opportunity to
hear from others and who have ideas with respect to
peace," Powell said Tuesday during a visit to Tunisia.
He added that the meeting "in no way undercuts our
strong support" for Israel and the road map.
The accord's organizers flew from Geneva to
Washington, where they hoped to meet Powell. However,
as of late Tuesday, a meeting had not yet been finally arranged.
Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that
Powell would be "making a mistake" by meeting the
plan's organizers, led by former Israeli Cabinet
minister Yossi Beilin and Palestinian minister Yasser
Abed Rabbo.
"I think he is not being useful to the process,"
Olmert told Israel Radio. "I am certain of his
friendship (to Israel), but I would cast doubt on his
judgment in this matter."
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described the
hypothetical agreement as subversive.
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