  We report the results of an XMM-Newton observation of the persistent X-ray
source 1E1743.1-2843, located in the Galactic Center (GC) direction. We
determine the position of the source at alpha_J2000=17h46m21.0s,
delta_J2000=-28deg43'44" (with an uncertainty of 1.5"), which is the most
accurate to date, and will enable cross-identifications at other wavelengths.
The source was bright during this observation (L_2-10keV ~ 2.7 x 10^36
d^2_10kpc erg/s for a power-law continuum), with no significant variability. We
propose that 1E1743.1-2843 may be explained in terms of a black hole candidate
in a low/hard state. There is an indication that the source exhibits different
states from a comparison of our results with previous observations (e.g.,
ART-P, BeppoSAX). However, the present spectral analysis does not rule out the
hypothesis of a neutron star low-mass X-ray binary as suggested previously. If
1E1743.1-2843 is actually located in the GC region, we might expect to observe
significant 6.4keV fluorescent iron line emission from nearby molecular clouds
(e.g., GCM+0.25+0.01).
