Sharon Says No War Will Burst Out In Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assured that a new war in the Middle East would not burst out. According to Sharon, he "knows how important peace is in the region". He said this during his meeting with Russian journalists in the same study where two days before he had decided to recognise the Palestinian National Authority "terrorism supporting organisation". The Israeli Prime Minister told Russian journalists that Palestinian authorities had been requested to comply with 5 demands: to arrest terrorist acts masterminds, to disband terrorist organisations, to hand over all illegally possessed arms to American representatives for their further taking away from the Palestinian territory, close the enterprises manufacturing rockets and mortars, and stop "encouraging terrorism". According to Sharon, only after that will Israel be ready to discuss political settlement of the conflict. "The Jews' state is small, but it is the only place in the whole world where they can defend themselves," the Prime Minister said. Meanwhile, coming back to Israel of around 3 million Arab refugees remains a stumbling block in Palestinian-Israeli talks. According to most Israeli leaders, this is totally unacceptable.