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Powell To Go On Mideast Tour
WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (News Agencies) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday he would make a whirlwind visit the Middle East and the Persian Gulf at the end of the month, to explore options for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and promote continued containment of Iraq.
Powell is to make six, and possibly eight, stops during a 72-hour swing through the region that will mark his first official solo trip abroad for which he will depart from Washington February 23rd.
Powell confirmed stops in Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, but a senior State Department official said later that one or two additional destinations may be added - possibly Syria and Lebanon.
"The purpose of this trip will be to share views with friends in the region, especially in Israel and Gaza and the West Bank, to make an assessment of the situation," he told reporters.
Powell said he would meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak, if still in office, and Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon.
Washington is in the process of redefining its role in Middle East peacemaking and has stood back from the Israeli-Palestinian situation, preferring to see how Sharon's government develops before it commits to a new position.
Powell's trip there will be the highest level personal contact between the new administration of President George W. Bush and either side, though both the secretary and the president have made numerous calls to regional leaders urging restraint and calm.
From Israel, Powell will make lightning trips to the other capitals before heading to Kuwait to represent the United States at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the end of the Gulf War on February 26th.
"The idea is to touch down, have brief meetings with key leaders and show the flag," a second State Department official said, adding that most stops would be extremely brief, lasting only several hours each.
Powell is to return to Washington on February 28th via Belgium, where he will attend a special meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on February 27th at which Balkans policy, missile defense and European security plans will be discussed.
Asked whether he would travel to Damascus, Powell said it was not on his itinerary, but "I reserve the right to change my mind."
"There may be other additions and modifications as we go along," he said.
In Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Powell is to call on leaders to counsel prudence to Arafat but also to explain Washington's desire to ratchet up U.N. sanctions against Baghdad.
"As I travel throughout the region I will be concentrating on the U.N. part of the policy," Powell said, adding that U.S. policy toward Iraq, such as its support for anti-Saddam Hussein forces, would not be a major part of his discussions.
Instead, he said he would be looking for Arab support in pressuring Saddam into allowing U.N. weapons inspectors back into the country. Without the inspectors' verification of the end of Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction programs, he said, sanctions will not be lifted.
"Let the inspectors in, and we can get beyond this," Powell said. "Until [Saddam] does that, I think we have to be firm. We have to be vigilant and I will be carrying this message to my friends in the region."
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the trip had been designed with Iraq and peacemaking in mind.
Powell will be going to "places where we have important bilateral relationships, places where we need to work with our friends and allies ... as we work through the issues of Middle East peace [and] issues involving Iraq," Boucher said.
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