SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ISRAELI DECISION TO LIFT SIEGE OF RAMALLAH COMPOUND
This statement has been issued by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The Secretary-General welcomes the decision of the Government of Israel to lift the siege of President Arafat’s Ramallah compound.� He strongly believes that both sides should fully implement Security Council resolution 1435 immediately and return to the negotiating table.� The best path away from violence and stalemate is through the road map set out by the Quartet in its 17 September communiqué which aims for a complete end of violence, the early establishment of a Palestinian State with provisional borders and a just and comprehensive settlement to the conflict.
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