October 8, 2001	Monday	Rajab 20, 1422

BRUSSELS, Oct 7: Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel called on Sunday for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to attend the ongoing UN General Assembly.

“We must bring these two men closer and push them towards the peace process,” Michel, whose country holds the agenda-setting presidency of the European Union, said on Flemish television.

Under pressure from the EU and United States, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Arafat agreed at a September 26 meeting to consolidate a fragile ceasefire after a year of violence.

The UN General Assembly’s annual debate of foreign ministers — usually attended by a number of heads of state and government — is set for November 10-16, after being postponed because of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.—AFP