Secretary of State Colin Powell reassured frequent critic Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday that Washington backs a Palestinian state as the way to achieve peace in the Middle East.

Powell, in Malaysia for less than a day as part of an eight-nation tour of Asian allies, met Mahathir for 40 minutes for talks that also covered the U.S. war on terror and Mahathir's jailed ex-deputy Anwar Ibrahim.

Malaysia, viewed by Washington as a moderate Muslim ally, has ruffled feathers in the United States by accusing Israel of "state terrorism" in its conflict with the Palestinians.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, due to replace Mahathir next year, has warned of growing Muslim anger over Israel's actions that could breed more extremist movements like the al Qaeda network, blamed for the September 11 air attacks.

Powell also met Abdullah and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

"We did discuss the Middle East in all three meetings, and I described to them President Bush's vision... and his commitment to bringing into being the Palestinian state," Powell told reporters.

"I wanted to make sure they knew that the United States intended to remain fully engaged until the president's goal, and the goal of all the people in the region, for these two nations to live side by side in peace...comes to a reality," he said.

Syed Hamid said Powell had raised the idea of setting up a regional office to coordinate anti-terrorism activities.

PHOTO CAPTION

Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (R) gestures during his joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, after their meeting at the Istana, in Singapore, July 30, 2002. Southeast Asian foreign minsters sat down for talks on Monday in Bandar Seri Begawan to hammer out a declaration on counter-terrorism, to be signed with Powell in Brunei later in the week. REUTERS/David Loh
- Jul 30 7:37