With a critical mid-September deadline in the Middle East peace process now only a month away, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Saturday that the Arab world was encouraging Washington to keep up its push for an Israeli-Palestinian accord.
Albright said reports from a top deputy now on a tour of 14 Arab countries assessing their reaction to last month's failed Camp David summit indicated that Muslim nations wanted the United States to move ahead quickly.
"There is a general sense, at least in my preliminary reports from Ned Walker, that people want this process to move forward," Albright said, referring to the assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, Edward Walker.
"They are encouraging us to move forward," she told AFP in an interview after two days of talks with her Canadian and Mexican counterparts.
Albright did not elaborate, but made clear she welcomed the encouragement, especially with the calendar only 30 days away from September 13th, the date Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has set to declare a state with or without an agreement with Israel.
"We are encouraging the parties to keep dealing with each other and to be prepared to make the hard decisions because no matter how much we do ... there's certain things beyond which you can't go, so they have to make the decisions and time is important," she said.
Israel has warned that a unilateral declaration of statehood would destroy peace efforts, and much of the rest of the world has voiced its objections to the plan, which Arafat insists is a Palestinian right.
Albright, who on Friday said she believed Arafat had a mandate to make the critical decisions necessary for peace, reiterated that point in the interview, suggesting that September 13th need not be a point of no return.
"There are different judgements out there," she said, conceding that some are convinced Arafat is under too much pressure from fellow Arab leaders who are urging him not to make concessions.
"But I think Arafat has the ability to do what he has to in order not to be the prisoner of a date," Albright said.
In addition to Walker's visits to Arab nations in aid of the peace process, Arafat himself has been on a whirlwind tour, traveling to 18 world capitals in the past 19 days, seeking support for his positions.
She said there were no immediate plans for the United States to make a concerted move to accelerate its efforts, but did note that US Special Middle East envoy Dennis Ross would soon be heading to the region for a semi-official visit.
"I think for now it's the appropriate speed," she said, "But that doesn't mean that in three or four days we'll have to have a different speed." - MEXICO (AFP)
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