US Secretary of State Rice
Photo: AP
Livni adressing AIPAC
Photo: Reuters
Saudi plan is starting point, says Rice
US Secretary of state cautions against taking Arab peace initiative as is, says Israel's ideas must also be considered
WASHINGTON- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the Saudi peace initiative was not to be taken as is but may be a starting point that could lead to a compromise once the Israeli viewpoint was taken into account.
Foreign Minister
Yitzhak Benhorin
Foreign minister tells AIPAC convention that Arab nations have the power to ‘change reality and to encourage the Palestinians to embrace co-existence’; adds: Normalize relations now and peace will come
In support of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's stance on the matter, Rice said that Israel should not respond to the Arab league's offer at this point in time, since she said the Israelis had their own ideas for achieving peace, which should also be considered.
Rice said that the initiative was a very important step and showed that it was clear that the Israeli-Arab conflict must come to an end.
In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Wednesday, Livni said that she viewed some of the plan's clauses very positively, but pointed out that the plan's treatment of the Palestinian refugee problem contradicted the two-state solution.
Rice and Livni met at the US Department of State in order to exchange ideas before Rice's upcoming visit to the region for another round of talks next week.
Israel's announcement that the plan had some positive elements, but that its refugee solution was unacceptable, caused a harsh response among the Arab League, just before its upcoming summit in Riyadh at the end of the month.
