Rice: Temporary ceasefire futile
Ahead of her visit to Israel, US secretary of state says that while truce between Israel, Lebanon is important goal, temporary cessation of fighting will not resolve Hizbullah threat to Israel
The time has come for diplomacy: In preparation for US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice's arrival in Israel, the US has accelerated political efforts to bring about a cessation of fighting in the region, but emphasizes that there is no point in negotiating a ceasefire without uprooting the source of the problem – Hizbullah.
Rice is scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon. She will meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and, later in the week, will attend an international conference in Rome, regarding the situation in Lebanon. "We all want to urgently end the fighting. We have absolutely the same goal," Rice told reporters traveling with her to the region.
Nonetheless, she said that it would be futile to achieve a temporary ceasefire, which would only postpone the conflict for a few weeks and easily allow a renewal of "all of the carnage that Hizbullah launched by its illegal activities - abducting the soldiers and then launching rocket attacks."
Rice also addressed the idea of Syria as a diplomatic channel to crisis resolution. According to her, the Washington-Damascus relationship is still relevant, albeit with reservations. "The problem isn't that people haven't talked to the Syrians. It's that the Syrians haven't acted," she said.
Saudis seek ceasefire
Ahead of Rice's trip ton the Mideast, the secretary of state and President George W. Bush met with top Saudi Arabian officials Bush on Sunday who urged the US to agree to seek a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas in southern Lebanon.
“We requested a ceasefire to allow for the cessation of hostilities, to allow for the rebuilding of the forces of Lebanon,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters in English after a meeting of more than an hour with Bush and Rice.
Bush has resisted calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying Israel has the right to defend itself and a cessation of hostilities must address the root causes of the conflict, including Hizbullah’s attacks on Israel and abduction of Israeli soldiers.
Ronny Sofer and news agencies contributed to the report
