Russia's special envoy holds talks with Foreign Minister of Jordan

The special envoy of the Russian Foreign Minister, Ambassador at Large Andrei Vdovin, met on Sunday Foreign Minister of Jordan Merwan al-Muasher in Amman.

At the meeting the sides exchanged opinions on the current situation in the Middle East in the light of the peace plan known as a "road map", prepared by the U.S. administration in coordination with other interested sides, among them Russia.

As observers in Cairo point out, after the corresponding finalisation this plan has to be submitted for approval to the Committee of the Four in mid-December 2002 before it becomes an official document known as the International Plan of Peaceful Settlement in the Middle East.

In the meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle Eastern Affairs David Satterfield who is finishing his trip around the countries of the region met Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Ahmed Maher in Cairo.

According to the MENA agency of Egypt, during the talks the American diplomat confirmed Washington's desire to pave the way for resuming "the serious talks with a view to translating into reality the U.S. president's striving to establish an independent Palestinian state which would co-exist side by side with Israel." According to the Egyptian Minister's statement made after the end of the consultations, the meeting showed that both sides are aware of the "danger of escalation of tension in the region, especially in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."