Last update - 00:00 09/03/2007
Rice likely to visit Middle East in coming weeks to discuss peace process
By Reuters
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to visit the Middle East in the next several weeks to continue efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack declined to provide details on the likely trip but said it was expected to include meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials and possibly other regional players.
"I would expect that within the next several weeks she will travel again to the region on the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he told reporters, saying no final decisions have been made on her travel.
"I would expect that she would, as it stands right now, meet with Israelis, meet with Palestinians and she may also have some other meetings in the region with people that she normally meets with," he added, declining to provide details.
After talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in February, Rice visited Jordan for talks with officials from the so-called Arab Quartet - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.