-Caveat Lector-
"Throw another log on the fire! The temperature ain't REALLY hot yet !"
Russia Decries Palestinian State
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
.c The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia advised Yasser Arafat on Tuesday not to unilaterally
declare an independent state next month. The Palestinian leader said he had
not yet made a final decision.
President Boris Yeltsin greeted Arafat with a bear hug at the start of their
Kremlin meeting, and said Moscow would continue to support the Palestinians.
Russia told Arafat, however, not to declare an independent Palestinian state
on May 4, when an interim autonomy agreement with Israel expires.
``We have been carrying on a continuous policy of supporting you, and will
continue to support you,'' Yeltsin told Arafat.
Russia has been developing better ties with Israel in recent years, and has
sought not to offend either Israelis or Palestinians in the complex Middle
East peace negotiations.
Arafat reiterated the Palestinians' right to go their own way and declare a
state on May 4 in the areas now under Palestinian self-rule, or continue
negotiations with Israel.
``We haven't made a final decision yet on the May 4 problem, and we are
continuing consultations,'' Arafat said.
Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said the Palestinians' right to
create a state was ``indisputable,'' but urged Arafat to avoid rushing the
process.
Arafat has been receiving advice to delay almost everywhere during
consultations in Europe, the Middle East and the United States over the past
month. This current tour takes him next to China, Japan and possibly India
and Malaysia, aides say.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood and
has threatened to counter such a unilateral declaration by annexing parts of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip still under Israeli control.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, at a press conference after talks with
Arafat, proposed that Israel and Palestinians extend the five-year interim
autonomy period laid out in the peace agreements to allow more time for
negotiations.
Russia is officially a co-sponsor of the Mideast peace process, which was
launched in 1991. But the United States has played a far greater role.
Arafat went later Tuesday from Moscow to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, for
talks with President Leonid Kuchma. Arafat said talks would focus on ``what
Ukraine can do to help the struggle for Palestinian independence,'' the UNIAN
news agency reported.
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