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Solana Calls for Palestinian State to Bring Peace VOA News 12 Feb 2002 21:23 UTC 
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana calls for the creation of an independent Palestinian state to bring peace to the Middle East.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state that makes peace with Israel.
Mr. Solana says he believes this is the only way peace can be reached in the Middle East.
He spoke Tuesday in Istanbul at a forum of Islamic and European countries. France has previously called for recognition of Palestinian statehood by Israel and elections in the Palestinian territories to give the Palestinian leadership a mandate for peace. However, the United States says a ceasefire must be the first priority in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has been working on a peace plan with Palestinian officials that calls for a ceasefire to be quickly followed by the establishment of a Palestinian state. However, other top Israeli officials have dismissed this plan as well.
In other comments Tuesday, Mr. Solana called on Islamic countries to join with the European Union to end the violence in the Middle East.
The two-day meeting in Turkey is bringing together officials from more than 70 countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the European Union.
Earlier, Iran Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi criticized the United States for what he called its "militaristic" approach to the war against terrorism.
Mr. Kharrazi told the meeting that President Bush has embarked on what he called a misguided campaign of misinformation in labeling Iran part of an axis of evil. He also warned of possible splits in the anti-terrorism coalition if the United States shifts its focus from Afghanistan to other countries.
Separately, the leader of Austria's right-wing Freedom Party met in Baghdad with Iraq's President Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi leader is quoted as saying the United States allegedly wants to destroy the world and that in his words it must be saved from also destroying itself.
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