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Rice dives into heart of Middle East peacemaking
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hopes to drive the Israelis and Palestinians closer to peace in Jerusalem on Sunday on her first visit as secretary of state to the heart of their conflict.
Criticized for too little involvement in Middle East peace efforts in his first term, US President Bush sent his top diplomat to the region to back up his pledge to press harder for an end to the conflict in his next four years.
The visit comes with renewed hopes around the world for a resolution because the sides' leaders have agreed to meet for the first time in years as they capitalize on goodwill created in the aftermath of President Yasser Arafat's death.
"I hope we would all get into a mind-set that says if the parties are able to continue to move on their own that's the very best outcome," she told reporters en route to Ankara during an eight-day tour of Europe and the Middle East.
Rice will fly from Turkey to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon later on Sunday and see his newly elected Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank the following day.
The two leaders then meet at a summit on Tuesday hosted by Egypt and attended by Jordan's king.
Rice said she will discuss with the sides setting up ways for them to coordinate security measures and defuse crises when they "inevitably" occur.
MIDDLE COURSE
Political analysts differ over how much the United States should intensify its longtime brokering role that has been largely dormant during Bush's presidency.
Rice signaled the Bush administration would seek to steer a middle course, mainly leaving the parties to make their own peace moves but jumping in to the process if they should falter or need U.S. arm-twisting to clinch deals.
"The United States wants very much for this to be a process that is the parties' process, that is owned by the parties, by the regional states," she said.
"When our involvement needs to take on a different character then we will do precisely that," she added.
Rice's predecessor, Colin Powell, made only infrequent visits to the Middle East.
Palestinians are wary of U.S. involvement because of what they saw as Bush's generally pro-Israeli stance in his first term when he endorsed the Jewish state's right to keep some lands seized in the 1967 Middle East war.
And U.S. clout in resolving the conflict is limited because Bush is leery of leaning on Israel too hard to make concessions for fear of a political backlash among the influential Jewish-American constituency, political analysts say.
Still, Bush has sought to bolster Abbas and on Wednesday announced $350 million in aid for the Palestinians. While it is a fraction of the $3 billion U.S. assistance Israel receives each year, the package was a big aid boost.
And Rice has generally been upbeat, saying she was "deeply satisfied" with the sides' progress. "A process in which the parties are moving ahead is really favorable from our point of view," she said. |
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![US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a news conference in Warsaw, February 5, 2005. Rice said Washington was ready to help Middle East peacemaking but the best outcome would be for Israelis and Palestinians to go on making progress on their own. [Reuters]](xin_200202061118129351411.jpg)
