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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: Colin Powell Trip
Aired May 01, 2003 - 06:06 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.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Mideast peace is one issue Secretary of State Colin Powell is dealing with, as he heads for a tour of Europe and the Middle East.
We're going to get a preview of that trip in a "Wake-Up Call" from our State Department producer, Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Arthel.
Well, Secretary Powell left Washington last night for Madrid. Spain has really emerged as a key ally during the war on Iraq, and he'll be talking with Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio about the reconstruction efforts there, the situation in the Mideast and the war on terrorism.
Next, he's off to Albania, where he'll sign a partnership agreement with the foreign ministers of Albania, Macedonia and Croatia. Now, those countries were getting really close to NATO membership, but didn't quite make it in this recent round. So that document just affirms U.S. support for them joining NATO soon.
And then Secretary Powell will make the long-awaited visit to Syria, where he has a bunch of issues to discuss with President Bashar al-Assad, including Iraqi leaders on the run who may have crossed the border into Syria. And Secretary Powell will also be discussing U.S. concerns about Syria's potential for developing weapons of mass destruction and its support for terrorist groups.
Now that the road map has been released, the U.S. is really putting extra pressure on Syria to stop aiding those extremist groups, like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who launch terrorist attacks against Israel and are determined to disrupt the peace process.
And, Arthel, the same goes for Lebanon, where he'll make one last stop before heading home on Sunday.
NEVILLE: Now, Elise, when is Secretary Powell going to go see Mahmoud Abbas?
LABOTT: Well, this trip this week is the first of two trips Secretary Powell will be making in the next few weeks. He wanted to give Mr. Abbas, Prime Minister Abbas, some time to settle in before he goes to promote the road map. After all, he was just sworn in yesterday.
But by next week, he is expected to go back to the Middle East. He'll probably be consulting first with key leaders in the region, like Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. And then he will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he'll meet the new Palestinian prime minister and Israeli leaders to discuss the road map.
And now that Mahmoud Abbas is in office and the military action in Iraq is winding down, Powell said this is the beginning of a much fuller and personal engagement by him in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And, Arthel, with the latest violence in the region, he certainly has his work cut out for him.
NEVILLE: Indeed. Elise Labott, thank you very much for that report this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired May 1, 2003 - 06:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Mideast peace is one issue Secretary of State Colin Powell is dealing with, as he heads for a tour of Europe and the Middle East.
We're going to get a preview of that trip in a "Wake-Up Call" from our State Department producer, Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Arthel.
Well, Secretary Powell left Washington last night for Madrid. Spain has really emerged as a key ally during the war on Iraq, and he'll be talking with Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio about the reconstruction efforts there, the situation in the Mideast and the war on terrorism.
Next, he's off to Albania, where he'll sign a partnership agreement with the foreign ministers of Albania, Macedonia and Croatia. Now, those countries were getting really close to NATO membership, but didn't quite make it in this recent round. So that document just affirms U.S. support for them joining NATO soon.
And then Secretary Powell will make the long-awaited visit to Syria, where he has a bunch of issues to discuss with President Bashar al-Assad, including Iraqi leaders on the run who may have crossed the border into Syria. And Secretary Powell will also be discussing U.S. concerns about Syria's potential for developing weapons of mass destruction and its support for terrorist groups.
Now that the road map has been released, the U.S. is really putting extra pressure on Syria to stop aiding those extremist groups, like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who launch terrorist attacks against Israel and are determined to disrupt the peace process.
And, Arthel, the same goes for Lebanon, where he'll make one last stop before heading home on Sunday.
NEVILLE: Now, Elise, when is Secretary Powell going to go see Mahmoud Abbas?
LABOTT: Well, this trip this week is the first of two trips Secretary Powell will be making in the next few weeks. He wanted to give Mr. Abbas, Prime Minister Abbas, some time to settle in before he goes to promote the road map. After all, he was just sworn in yesterday.
But by next week, he is expected to go back to the Middle East. He'll probably be consulting first with key leaders in the region, like Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. And then he will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he'll meet the new Palestinian prime minister and Israeli leaders to discuss the road map.
And now that Mahmoud Abbas is in office and the military action in Iraq is winding down, Powell said this is the beginning of a much fuller and personal engagement by him in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And, Arthel, with the latest violence in the region, he certainly has his work cut out for him.
NEVILLE: Indeed. Elise Labott, thank you very much for that report this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
