Last update - 00:00 03/10/2007
Rice set for Mideast tour next week to prepare peace summit
By The Associated Press
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to visit the Middle East next week to prepare for a U.S.-hosted peace conference, as Israel and the Palestinians begin work on a joint outline for a possible settlement.
Rice will travel to Israel and visit the Palestinian Authority, with possible stops in some neighboring Arab states, as planning for the conference expected to be held in north of Washington in mid- to late-November hits high gear, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday.
"The hard work has already begun, the really hard work is about to begin," he told reporters.
"Part of that work is going to be the secretary going out next week to the Middle East," McCormack said. "I would expect that there is going to be a lot of going back and forth among various parties in the region."
He did not give dates for Rice's shuttle diplomacy or the exact stops that she would make.
(More about Rice and the peace process on Rosner's Domain)
Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said Rice will determine the date fo the summit following her visit next week. "She will see how things are going, and according to that, the date would be set," he said.
McCormack said there had been encouraging statements about the upcoming meeting from expected participants, including the Israelis and Palestinians whose leaders have asked drafting teams to start work next week on a joint declaration ahead of the conference.
"The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia has also made positive statements about the meeting," he said.
Saudi Arabia, Syria and several other Arab states that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel are to be invited to the conference along with Egypt and Jordan, which do, Rice told internationalpeacemakers last month at the United Nations.
But many have expressed reservations about the utility of the meeting if it does not address the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian and broader Arab-Israeli conflicts.
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hosted Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at his official residence in Jerusalem, for talks that lasted just over two hours in which they instructed aides to begin drafting a declaration.
However, the two sides are still far apart on how detailed it should be. Abbas wants a detailed framework agreement that would address the big issues - Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders and Palestinian refugees. Olmert wants a shorter and vaguer guideline for future negotiations.