Colin Powell Urges Mideast Peace Talks 
May 1, 2003 10:54 AM EDT
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U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell shows a 
piece of paper to Spain's Foreign Minister Ana
Palacio in the gardens of the La Quinta palace
just outside Madrid, Spain Thursday, May 1, 2003
where the two held talks. Powell is on a one day
visit to Madrid. It was not known what was on the
piece of paper. (AP Photo/Denis Doyle)		 MADRID - Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday urged Israel and the Palestinian Authority to begin talks on the U.S.-backed formula for peace in the Middle East, saying "a lot of work has to take place" before President Bush's goals can be met. 

"We need to see the end of terror - and actions on the Israel side as well," Powell said, seeking to put pressure on both sides in the decades-old dispute. 

Powell, opening a trip through Europe and the Middle East, spoke in Spain a day after Bush urged Israelis and Palestinians to "immediately end the violence and return to a path of peace." 

A roadmap, or blueprint, for negotiations between the two sides was announced on Wednesday. 

While Bush said in March that "we would expect and welcome contributions from Israel and the Palestinians to this document," Powell has sought called for prompt negotiations based the roadmap, as is. 

The appointment of Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian prime minister triggered the new U.S. drive. Bush, who tried to ostracize Yasser Arafat, on Wednesday called Abbas, known also as Abu Mazen, "a man I can work with." 

Powell, meanwhile, is expected to go the region in the next two weeks for talks with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. 

Bush said Wednesday that achieving peace requires that "all parties must assume their responsibilities." 

"That includes the Arab nations which surround Israel and the potential Palestinian state. They must cut off funding for terrorists. They must create the conditions necessary for peace," he said. 

Powell is due in Syria later in the week where he will take up with President Bashar Assad U.S. allegations that Syria supports terrorism. 

Among the key provisions of the roadmap, which was prepared jointly by the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, are establishment of a Palestinian state within three years, an end to violence by both the Palestinians and Israel, an immediate ceasefire and the dismantling of some Israeli settlements - along with a freeze on new construction.