On his way back to the United States, Secretary of State Colin Powell will travel to Cairo on Wednesday for talks with Egyptian officials about his meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
A U.S. embassy spokesman said on Tuesday that Powell would travel to Egypt "to consult on the outcome of his talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah." The spokesman said the United States had requested a meeting for Powell with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Powell's visit will be his second to Cairo since he began his regional tour in Morocco on April 8.
Powell spoke of progress in talks with Israel and the Palestinians. He said Tuesday that he hopes to work out some kind of cease-fire within 24 hours. He said it probably would be something less than a formal cease-fire, but did not spell out what might be in the offing.
"I think we are making progress and are looking forward to making more progress in the next 24 hours," he said, according to AP.
Powell was to hold talks with Sharon on Tuesday, and scheduled a meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his besieged headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government prevented Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher from visiting Yasser Arafat, Palestinian minister Saeb Erakat told AFP.
"The Israeli government prevented the Jordanian foreign minister's visit. The meeting had been set for midday (1000 GMT) buy Israel did not authorise it," Erakat said Tuesday.
In Amman a Jordanian foreign ministry source confirmed to AFP that "the visit will not take place on Tuesday," without providing further details. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
