UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday in Rome that "Finally the international community has spoken with a single voice and with a single aim" on the Middle East issue, after the Madrid meeting between the US the EU, Russia and the United Nations.
The two conflicting sides, Israel and Palestine, "cannot resolve their conflict by themselves," Annan said.
"They need outside help and it's up to us to provide it," Annan said at a ceremony in the Italian Presidential Palace to mark an international Treaty launching the International Criminal Court.
At the Wednesday's Madrid meeting, Annan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Spanish Premier Jose' Maria Aznar representingthe EU, and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov called for the immediate Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities in the West Bank. They also urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to do everything possible to stop suicide bombing attacks against Israeli civilians.
(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2002)
