Rice – Guarded optimism
Photo: AFP
PM Olmert with PA President Abbas
Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)
Rice: Mideast peace stalled because of Israeli elections
There is little hope for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the 2008 deadline, US secretary of state concedes while en route to her eighth, and possible last, trip to the Middle East in bid to ensure 'momentum' of peace process relaunched by Bush administration carries on into Obama presidency
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday all but conceded that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by a year-end deadline is no longer possible.
But she also said upon arriving here that "it is important to maintain momentum and support for the negotiations."
En route to the Middle East for her eighth trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories since the parties set the timeline for reaching an agreement at last November's summit at Annapolis, Md., Rice told reporters in her traveling party that political uncertainty in Israel was the main complication.
"Obviously Israel is in the middle of elections and that is a constraint on the ability of any government to conclude what is the core conflict for Israel and the Palestinians," Rice said.
Rice remained upbeat about the future of the peace process even though it has produced no tangible results since she helped relaunch it after a seven-year hiatus.
"It is our expectation that the Annapolis process has laid groundwork which should make possible the establishment of a Palestinian state when the political circumstances permit," Rice said.
"I think we can sustain momentum," said Rice, who was on her 19th visit to the Middle East in two years and the eighth since she and US President George W. Bush hosted the Annapolis conference. "I think that whatever happens by the end of the year, you've got a firm foundation for quickly moving forward to a conclusion," she said.
Although Rice refused to absolutely rule out the chance of an agreement by year's end, her remarks reflect the first time that an official of the Bush administration has publicly not held out hope that the deadline could be met.
"We'll see where they are at the end of the year," said Rice, vowing to "work on this with the parties until the day that we leave."
Bush's term ends Jan. 20, when Democrat Barack Obama will be sworn in as his successor.
The Associated Press and AFP contributed to this report
