On the first day of her Middle East tour, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday signed a joint statement with Egypt, Jordan and six Persian Gulf states, endorsing the 2002 Arab peace initiative as one of the foundations for Middle East peace.

Visiting the region with Rice is Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

The initiative offers Israel normalized relations with all Arab countries in return for full withdrawal from the territory Israel captured in 1967.

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Speaking at a joint news conference with Rice at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, where the conference took place, Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit emphasized the importance of the Palestinian issue.

Aboul Gheit addressed U.S. President George W. Bush's speech of July 16, in which he proposed an international peace conference later this year.

The Egyptian foreign minister indicated he would like to see an elaborate agenda for the U.S.-hosted meeting, giving high priority to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the near future.

"I believe that what is needed is accelerated moves in order to reach the horizon of that [Palestinian] state, and an agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority," Aboul Gheit said.

"This settlement ... will be presented to the Palestinian people. If we wait, I believe this will have a negative impact on the general situation in dealing with the Palestinian issue," he added.

Aboul Gheit also criticized Iran's allegations concerning the recently-announced increase in U.S. military aid to some of Washington's allies in the region.

Iran has criticized the promised arms sales to Israel, Egypt and other Persian Gulf states, accusing the U.S. of trying to destabilize the region.

Rice also criticized Iran's allegations, saying, "If there is a destabilization of the region it can be laid at the feet of an Iranian regime."