Sharon moves to appease US

US coalition building has left Israel uneasy

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has tried to heal a diplomatic rift between Jerusalem and Washington following his comment that the US was in danger of appeasing Arab states at Israel's expense in order to gain support for the coalition against terrorism.

Mr Sharon expressed his appreciation for the deep friendship and the special relations between the US and Israel

Israeli government press office

But he stopped short of apologising for Thursday's remark, which President George W Bush had found "unacceptable", his spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Instead, Mr Sharon expressed appreciation for the "deep friendship" of the United States in a telephone conversation on Friday with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Israeli government press office said.

Meanwhile, about 1,000 troops are on their way to Uzbekistan in the first major deployment of ground forces in the campaign against terrorism, US officials said.

In other developments:

• British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives in India for talks with his counterpart, following a meeting with the Pakistani president
• US President Bush promises an extra $320m in aid for the Afghans, but the Pentagon says any airdrop will have to be protected by fighter planes
• The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee recommends easing sanctions imposed on Pakistan after the military coup two years ago
• UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw broadcasts a message to the Afghan people, promising help for rebuilding their country once the Taleban are overthrown
• 
  

  Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division will be guarding an Uzbek airbase
  
  Nato's Secretary-General, George Robertson, says the alliance has agreed to requests from the US for intelligence, logistical and military support in the fight against terrorism
• The European Parliament approves legislation to freeze the assets of 27 groups and individuals linked to terrorism
• The Japanese cabinet agrees measures to enable the country's defence forces to play a greater role in the campaign

Mr Sharon's remark about appeasement on Thursday was his strongest criticism yet of the United States, Israel's closest ally.

It followed Mr Bush's endorsement earlier in the week of a Palestinian state.

He compared the treatment of Israel to events leading up to World War II, when Britain and France stood by while Nazi Germany dismembered Czechoslovakia.

The ceasefire has not worked on the ground

"I call on the Western democracies, and primarily the Free World, the United States, do not repeat the dreadful mistake of 1938 when Europe sacrificed Czechoslovakia. Do not try to appease the Arabs at our expense," Mr Sharon said.

One of Mr Sharon's aides quickly said that the prime minister had not meant to imply that the United States was acting in a "dishonourable way".

But that is exactly how Mr Sharon's use of the emotive term "appeasement" seems to have been understood in Washington, analysts said.

Ground troops deployment

Troops from the US Army's 10th Mountain Division heading to Uzbekistan can use only one airbase - and only for search and rescue, and humanitarian missions.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has ruled out the launch of ground or air attacks from Uzbekistan and said special forces would not be allowed into the country.