President receives Rice in Washington

SANA’A, May 01 (Saba) President Ali Abdullah Saleh received in Washington on Tuesday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.In the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and the mutual cooperation between Yemen and Untied States in the political, economic and security fields as well as fighting corruption.They also discussed the latest regional and international developments of common concern particularly the situations in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Somali and Sudan in addition to Iranian nuclear file. The Arab initiative over realizing peace in the Middle East was discussed. President Saleh affirmed the key role of United States in pushing the Middle East peace process forward. He said that the acceptance of Israel for this Arab initiative would enhance the chance of achieving peace and would enhance the efforts of fighting terrorism in the region. He said that the fair and comprehensive peace could not be achieved without setting up the Palestinian independent state and al-Quds as its capital and rights of Palestinian refugees.For her part, Rice highlighted level of the Yemeni-American ties, praising efforts of Yemen in fields of democracy, reform and fighting terror. She expressed support of her country for Yemen to face threats of al-Qeida and others, voicing support of Untied States for reform and development in Yemen. She pointed out to the success of the September elections in Yemen, saying that the elections reflected positive impression on Yemen. AH/TN SABA