Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Friday urged visiting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat not to unilaterally declare statehood for his fledgling nation even if peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine fail to come to a conclusion by the Sept. 13 deadline.
In a meeting with Arafat at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, Mori underlined the importance of resolving the issue of Palestinian independence through peace agreements, a Foreign Ministry official said.
At the time, Arafat would not comment on whether the Palestinians will unilaterally declare independence after the deadline expires. However, he later told reporters that a final decision would be made at a meeting of the Palestine Central Council, a consultative and legislative body of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, scheduled for early September.