Rice says US not opposed to Israel-Syria talks

WASHINGTON - The United States does not object to the idea of peace talks between Israel and Syria, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday.  

Speaking with reporters while en route to Berlin for a meeting of Quartet representatives on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Rice rejected the claim voiced by critics of the Bush administration that Washington was preventing Israel from negotiating with Syria.  

"Let me just be very clear. No one is opposed to Israel pursuing other tracks, including a Syria track. But my understanding is that it's the view of the Israelis and certainly our view that the Syrians are engaged in behavior right now that is destabilizing to the region. But it's not a view that there shouldn't be such a track. When it's ready, it should be," said Rice.

The secretary of state did say, however, that there are clear priorities and that she believed peace with the Palestinians must come first.

"I think that everybody agrees that the Israeli-Palestinian track is extremely important for a number of reasons but (it would) also unlock the key to the use of Arab initiatives and further engagement between the Arabs and the Israelis. And so I don't think there's any substitute for that activity.

"There's no substitute for trying to get to the place where the Palestinians finally have their state and the Israelis finally have a neighbor who can live in peace and security with them. It's at the core of a lot of problems in the region."

Rice said that the events of the past few weeks, with Hamas instigating another round of violence in the PA "underscores the need for there to be a political framework, a political horizon for those who want to pursue a two-state solution."

Despite serious objections voiced by security figures in Israel, Rice continues to push for Israel to comply with the "benchmarks," or a series of goodwill gestures, that would see Israel opening checkpoints and border crossings for Palestinians and their goods.

"The work that General Dayton has been doing to work on the benchmarks that we have talked about can help contribute to both a more peaceful Palestinian territory and one that's more economically viable as

you are able to move forward on some of the movement and access issues," said Rice, adding that she does not see her role as mediator between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

"There ought to be a cessation of violence because there ought to be a cessation of violence, and the Palestinians themselves have been pursuing that course and some of the Arab states have been helping them," she said.