Arafat welcomes US peace moves

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat welcomed new US moves on the Middle East peace process in an interview broadcast yesterday, but called for guarantees on Palestinian statehood.

US President George W. Bush said on Friday he would unveil a long-delayed peace plan when a Palestinian prime minister with "real authority" takes office, an announcement aimed at deflecting Arab and European criticism of US policy before any attack on Iraq.

Arafat said he had raised several issues about the peace roadmap, a phased plan that leads to a Palestinian state by 2005 on condition that Israel's security is safeguarded.

"We sent a statement from the (Palestinian) executive committee in which we thanked President Bush and Prime Minister Blair and we mentioned certain points," Arafat told Dubai-based Al Arabiya television.

"We want guarantees for the declaration of this state," he said without elaborating.

Washington has been under pressure from the other members of the so-called Quartet of mediators - Russia, the United Nations and the European Union - to release the roadmap, which Bush wanted delayed until after Israel's election in January.

The White House wants Arafat to relinquish key powers through reforms it says are crucial to peace.

Arafat said Mahmoud Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, would enjoy all the powers of a prime minister once he took office.