World powers appeal to Arab states

Four world powers urged Arab states on Friday to make good on promises of aid for the Palestinian territories, after a meeting of the international Quartet on the Middle East.

Addressing a press conference after the talks in London, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon Ban called on the donor states to follow through on commitments to the Palestinians made at a Paris conference in December 2007.

"The Quartet encouraged the Arab states to fulfil both their political and financial roles in support of the Annapolis process," he said, citing a statement agreed by the four powers.

The comments echoed remarks by US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, speaking on the eve of the talks.

Arab "states that have resources ought to be looking not for how little they can do but how much they can do," she told reporters accompanying her en route to London.