Washington: US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the Middle East should be free of all weapons of mass destructions (WMD) and hoped that a comprehensive peace process would help create a Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.

"We would like to see a region that is free of all weapons of mass destruction", Powell said on April 15 when asked at a press conference as to why he does not name Israel, which reportedly has weapons of mass destruction, when calling upon Syria and other countries not to develop such weapons.

"And I hope that if we can move forward with a comprehensive peace process that leads to a comprehensive solution that creates a Palestinian state living side by side in peace with the Jewish state and ultimately have that comprehensive solution reach out and touch Lebanon and Syria, then I think a lot of pieces will begin to fall in place with respect to what people’s various needs are", he said at the US State Departments foreign press centre.

But right now, we will just continue to say that we believe that the entire region should be fee of weapons of mass destruction."

Powell said once Abu Mazen is confirmed by a vote of confidence as the Prime Minister of the Palestine Liberation Council, "we will release the roadmap as it was finalised last December. And we hope that both parties will use this roadmap as a way of reaching the vision that the President laid out in his speech of June 24, last year".

"And that also is the vision that was laid out by the Arab League nations following the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia."

PTI