USA: YASSER ARAFAT MEETS MADELEINE ALBRIGHT

(23 Mar 1999) English/Nat Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has arrived in Washington for talks with administration officials. His plane landed at Andrews Airforce Base late on Monday and then his motorcade whisked him off for a meeting with U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Arafat is planning to meet President Bill Clinton at the White House on Tuesday. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat arrived on Monday evening in Washington. Moments after his plane landed at Andrews Airforce Base, he was whisked off to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's Georgetown house. The two met for over an hour. The Palestinian leader's visit to the U-S comes close on the heels of his tour of Europe. On Tuesday, Arafat will meet President Bill Clinton to discuss the Middle East peace process. It is expected that he will press Clinton to recognise the Palestinians' right to a state. On this issue, Washington's stance so far has been to push for dialogue and resume talks with the Israelis. Last week, Clinton warned the Palestinians that a declaration of independence without support from Israel would deeply endanger the Middle East peace process. He also criticised Israel for allowing Jews to settle on the West Bank. Arafat has said that Israel must respect peace agreement commitments before any step can be taken to postpone the declaration of Palestinian statehood. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...