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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: April 3, 2006 |
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Envoys from the United States, European Union, Russian and the United Nations held talks Sunday on the fate of Western funding to the Palestinians after a Hamas-led government was sworn into office.
The United States and European Union have said they will halt millions of dollars in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority unless the radical group Hamas renounces violence, recognizes Israel and commits to the peace process.
The envoys from the four bodies that make up the Mideast Quartet met to discuss the next steps, but officials refused to give details on the talks.
The EU's delegation was headed by Marc Otte, special envoy to the Middle East, EU spokeswoman Nida Ramahi told The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear who headed the American side to the meeting, but local news reports suggested it was U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch.
Welch met later Sunday in the Jordanian capital with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who maintains his post as president of the Palestinian Authority even after his moderate Fatah movement was defeated by Hamas in January elections.
The new Hamas-led government was sworn in last week. Hamas is listed as a terror group by the United States and European Union.
A day after the new Hamas-led Palestinian government was sworn into office, the Quarter issued a statement warning Hamas that it must recognize Israel and seek peace talks if it wants to be guaranteed continued aid. The Palestinian Authority is highly dependent on foreign aid, particularly to pay salaries.
EU foreign ministers are expected to take decision on what to do about funding April 10. In 2005, EU governments and the EU executive commission together gave about $600 million to the Palestinian Authority. |
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