President George W. Bush met with chief Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath in New York on Friday in what was Bush's first meeting with an elected Palestinian official during his term as president, a spokesman for Shaath's office in Gaza said.
During the meeting, which took place in the president's private offices within the United Nation's building, Shaath stressed the need to resolve the Middle East conflict peacefully and to establish an independent Palestinian state, the spokesman said.
"Mr. Shaath spoke with Mr. Bush about the need to find a solution for a comprehensive and lasting peace and the creation of an independent and viable Palestinian state," he said.
(China Daily September 14, 2002)
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