Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Cheney May Meet With Arafat

Aired March 19, 2002 - 10:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: First up, Vice President Dick Cheney says he is he willing to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, but the offer, considered a possible breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, comes with conditions.

CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Mike Hanna joins us live to explain what's up -- Mike.

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Carol, the U.S. vice president spent less than 24 hours on the ground in Jerusalem. He held a series of meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Aerial Sharon, and after the second meeting in the course of this morning, Mr. Cheney announced that he was prepared to meet with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader if -- and this is a big "if" -- a cease-fire is implemented in coming days. Vice President Cheney said that would he meet with Arafat at a place and venue to be decided once the cease- fire was in place.

This is a significant carrot, from the U.S. point of view. The Palestinians have been seeking a meeting with senior Bush administration officials, if not President Bush himself. And so certainly, it's very important for the Palestinians to have been offered such a meeting, even though it is conditional.

The Israeli prime minister, Aerial Sharon, has said that he will allow Yasser Arafat to travel to Beirut for the critical meeting of the Arab summit, which takes place at the end of next week, on condition, too, that the cease-fire is put in place.

U.S. Special envoy Anthony Zinni remains in the region to attempt to get the cease-fire in place. What he is attempting to do is to get both sides, Israelis and Palestinians, to agree to the implementation of a plan drawn up by CIA Director George Tenet a year ago, in terms of which each side undertakes step-up measures to reduce the level of conflict, each move matched by the other side, coming to the point where a formal cease-fire can be declared.

Well, there has been ongoing violence on the ground, but it has reduced in scale very much over the past couple of days. And there does appear to be a momentum towards getting the cease-fire in place. Still a lot of negotiation, a lot of argument. But there is some cause for optimism at this stage -- Carol.

LIN: Thank you very much. Mike Hanna, reporting live from Jerusalem.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com