(State Department) - Secretary of State Powell told National Public Radio Wednesday: "We won't speak to Chairman Arafat on an official level for the simple reason that we don't believe he is a responsible partner for peace....Arafat is an obstacle on the way to the accomplishment of the road map objectives, and we've said so. The President made it clear in his June 24th speech last year that the Palestinian Authority needed to reform itself, needed to come up with new leaders, and we made it clear that we thought Yasser Arafat...is a failed leader." "We will continue to work with Palestinian prime ministers as long as those prime ministers commit themselves to reforming the Palestinian Authority, ending corruption, making sure that money that goes to the Authority is used well, and cracking down on terrorism."
2003-11-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive