Rice vows summit will be substantive - Haaretz

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Sun., September 23, 2007 ,

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Rice vows summit will be substantive

By Avi Issacharoff

The upcoming peace summit in Washington must be substantive, using whatever document Israel and the Palestinians formulate beforehand as the basis for serious talks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday after meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

"I will work, I know that the president [Abbas] and Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert will work, and that their teams will work, very aggressively, very urgently, to lay the groundwork for a successful meeting," Rice said.

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The secretary of state did not address any of the disagreements between the parties on the nature of the document being negotiated. The PA is asking for an agreement of principles that would outline solutions on core final-status issues, while Israel is only interested in a joint declaration.

"What kind of document comes out of these discussions is something they will have to work out," said Rice, adding that she hoped it would lead to "serious negotiations for the establishment of a Palestinian state as soon as possible."

Abbas said that he would meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week. "We will continue our talks on seeking a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East," Abbas said.

He also reiterated that he hopes the summit in Washington will lead to serious negotiations between Israel and the PA.

"We believe that the time has come to establish an independent Palestinian state, with its capital in East Jerusalem, that will coexist in peace and security [with] Israel," Abbas said.

Other Arab states, he warned, are hesitant to declare that they will attend the summit because of its undefined goals. "It is necessary to define many subjects, and I believe this is the responsibility of the hosts," he said.

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