*EPF114 11/22/2004
Transcript: Powell Meets Sharon to Discuss New Opportunities for Peace
(Talks cover Palestinian elections, Israel's disengagement plan) (710)

Secretary of State Colin Powell is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian officials November 22 in an effort to renew momentum behind the road-map process aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I have come to bring a message of peace, and commitment from President Bush that he wants to move forward on the path of peace, to take advantage of the new opportunities that are before us," Powell said as he entered a meeting with Sharon.

Powell will be discussing preparations for the Palestinians' January 9, 2005, elections to replace the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

"In my conversations with both sides I'll be encouraging both sides to do everything they can to make sure that this election comes off and that the maximum number of Palestinians get the opportunity to participate in the election," Powell told reporters November 21, while en route to Tel Aviv.

He characterized this as a "a moment of opportunity ... a moment where we can move forward."

The secretary also will be discussing preparations for the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza strip and four West Bank settlements. In particular, he said, he would focus on the Palestinians' preparations to assume political and security control over the areas from which Israel withdraws.

Powell will be discussing the status of the road-map process with other members of the Quartet for Middle East peace -- Russia, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations -- during the November 22-23 Iraq Neighbors Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Following is the transcript of Powell and Sharon's remarks prior to their meeting:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Jerusalem)
For Immediate Release
November 22, 2004
2004/1246

REMARKS TO THE PRESS BY SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL WITH ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON BEFORE THEIR MEETING

Prime Minister's Office
Jerusalem
November 22, 2004

PRIME MINISTER SHARON: (In Hebrew, unofficial translation) Good morning to you. We are happy to welcome the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, the Secretary of State of the United States, a friend of Israel, a person who greatly contributed to the promotion of relations between the United States and Israel to its current level, worked hard for the advancement of the peace process in the Middle East, and I hope that we will yet see his contribution in the future. We know that Colin Powell played a pivotal role in the crucial events that took place over the last few years in our relationship with the United States.

I want to wish the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, success in his future endeavors. We know that he will continue to be active, and his concerns for peace in the Middle East is a special concern for him in itself.

I want to wish him success and thank him for his close cooperation and I am sure that our present relations and solidarity will continue in the improvement of relations between the two countries and the advancement of peace in the Middle East.

Thank you.

SECRETARY POWELL: Mr. Prime Minister, I would just like to say it is a great pleasure to be back in Israel. I have valued very much my friendship and my relationship with you over many years. I have come to bring a message of peace, and commitment from President Bush that he wants to move forward on the path of peace, to take advantage of the new opportunities that are before us.

So, I look forward to my conversation with you and Foreign Minister Shalom later in the day and then tomorrow I will be able to speak to the members of the Quartet and other leaders who are meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh. It is a moment of opportunity as we look forward to the Palestinian elections that will be held on the 9th of January and we will do everything we can in working together. Terror must be ended, violence must be ended, all sides must be prepared. I think this is a moment of opportunity.

I am pleased to be here. Thank you.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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