-Caveat Lector- From http://www.middleeastwire.com/palestine/stories/20010925_meno.shtml }}}>Begin Palestine Arafat-Straw Meeting Appears To Seal Palestinian Entrance Into US-Led Coalition Jordan Times (Amman) By Francesca Sawalha Posted Tuesday September 25, 2001 - 03:23:21 PM EDT Amman - A groundbreaking meeting between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw here last night appeared to seal the Palestinians' entrance into a US-led international political coalition against terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. "First of all, I would like to thank His Majesty King Abdullah and the government of Jordan for allowing me this opportunity to meet with my friend, Secretary Straw," a visibly satisfied Arafat told reporters at Marka Airport, after brief talks with the British foreign minister. Standing beside an apparently equally satisfied Straw, Arafat said their talks dealt mainly with the peace process and the need to widen the scope of a meeting between him and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres expected in the next few days. "I want to emphasise here that we [the Palestinians] are fully committed to the peace process," Arafat said. "We need your support to overcome the current problems... and work on the basis of the Mitchell report and the Tenet understanding," he told Straw. Washington and the Europeans deem crucial to the success of their "crusade" against terror the support of moderate Arab and Muslim countries. Officials and diplomats agree that the EU hopes that, if it uses its influence to draw Arab and Muslim countries into the anti- terror coalition, in return the US could re-engage and play a more active role in solving the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. The Palestinian president earlier yesterday reiterated his people's commitment to the peace process and the fight against world terror in talks in Gaza with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine. Straw arrived here on a brief visit on Monday for talks with King Abdullah on the regional developments in the wake of the New York and Washington attacks. King Abdullah is to travel to the US on Wednesday for a summit with President George W. Bush at the White House on Friday to discuss the international fight against terrorism and ways to give fresh impetus to the all but dead Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. In a seemingly conciliatory tone, Arafat said yesterday he did not want to "blame" Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon for the postponement of a meeting between him and Peres, initially scheduled for Sunday. "The meeting was not cancelled, it was just postponed," Arafat declared, indicating that it could be just a few days away. "I do not want to blame anyone." Sharon cancelled Peres' plans to meet Arafat on Sunday, citing what he called continuing Palestinian attacks despite a cease-fire announced last Tuesday. On his part, Straw welcomed Arafat's recent appeals to his people to restrain from using any violence, even in self-defence and commended "the steps taken by the Palestinian [National] Authority" to quell tensions. The British foreign secretary also welcomed Arafat's statements of condemnation of international terror since the attacks on New York and Washington. It was the type of political support granted through statements such as Arafat's that the US and Britain were seeking in building international consensus for the campaign against terror, said Straw, who had earlier held talks with King Abdullah on the regional developments following the attacks (see separate story). He declined to spell out any plan for the expected military campaign to target first Afghanistan, where the US' prime suspect in the spate of terror operations, Osama Ben Laden, is believed to be hiding. But he made clear that the type of support that he sought from countries in the region was mainly political. "This is not an argument with the followers of Islam," Straw also said. "This is a fight of all civilisations against the horror that we have seen 13 days ago." Both men were speaking on the eve of two ground-breaking visits: Straw left Amman late last night to Tehran, for the first visit by a British minister since the 1979 Islamic revolution; Arafat was to leave this morning to Damascus, for much- awaited talks with President Bashar Assad, crowning a thaw in Syrian- Palestinian ties. Earlier in the day, King Abdullah had also held talks with Austria's Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who arrived here yesterday as part of a regional tour and was expected to leave today. The Austrian foreign minister was also to meet with Arafat later last night. © 2001 Jordan Times (Amman). This news item is distributed via Middle East News Online (MiddleEastWire.com). 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