RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Saturday presidential elections for selecting a successor to Yasser Arafat will be held before January 9.
"Elections will be held according to the law within the next 60 days," Qureia said after a meeting with Javier Solana, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Policy, who traveled to Ramallah to offer condolences to the Palestinian Authority.
Qureia said Solana also discussed with him the situation in the occupied territories and the efforts by the European Union to help the Palestinian Authority overcome the loss of Arafat.
"We found all possible support and understand from the EU in this very difficult time that we are facing due to the disappearance of our great leader Yasser Arafat," he said.
Solana reiterated EU support for the Palestinians to help them establish their own independent state.
