British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair held telephone talks with Mr Yasser Arafat this afternoon about reforms to the Palestinian leader's administration, as hopes faded that prime minister-designate Mahmud Abbas would create a cabinet.
A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Blair had spoken to Mr Arafat for 10 minutes. "They exchanged views on the continuing process of the appointment of the cabinet of the Palestinian authority," the spokesman said, without giving more details.
Mr Blair has been pushing for a swift implementation of the internationally-drafted "roadmap" to tackle the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
Mr Abbas said today that talks between him and Mr Arafat had "broken down" and that he would not go back to crucial discussions on a new cabinet, a source close to the protracted negotiations told AFP.
US President George W. Bush has said that after Mr Abbas names his cabinet, Washington will publish the international roadmap setting out the steps to creating a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel by 2005.
AFP