French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine called Monday on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to take measures "very urgently" to curb violence.
"Yasser Arafat must very urgently take concrete and visible measures to curb as much as he can all forms of violence and to try to trace those who organize this kind of action," he told AFP.
"It would be very important for him, for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people," he added, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Vedrine, speaking after weekend attacks that killed some 30 people in Israel, also urged "countries which can influence Hamas and Islamic Jihad to change their attitude and to use all their influence to reduce tensions."
Earlier Romanian President Ion Iliescu, hosting a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), warned against sidelining Arafat from the peace process.
"He is perhaps the only valid partner as a representative of the Palestinian side in dialogue with Israel," he said, adding that it would be a "big political mistake" to sideline Arafat -- Bucharest (AFP)
