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ME talks to be resumed - Rice
05/03/2008 15:15 - (SA)
Jerusalem - US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday Israel and the Palestinians
had agreed to resume peace talks suspended over an Israeli
offensive in the Gaza Strip, but she did not specify a date.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said earlier the
negotiations could not get under way again until Israel reached
a ceasefire with Gaza militants behind cross-border rocket
attacks.
Abbas's comments touched off a flurry of behind-the-scenes
lobbying by Rice with the Palestinians. She later told a news
conference that a truce was not a condition for restarting the
US-brokered talks on Palestinian statehood.
"I've been informed by the parties that they intend to
resume the negotiations and that they are in contact with one
another as to how to bring this about," Rice said at a news
conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
Rice did not say when the next round of talks, which the
United States hopes can result in an agreement by year's end,
would be held. Conditions
Abbas's office issued a statement that did not repeat his
condition for talks. The statement said Rice was exerting
efforts to "enforce a mutual calm" and Abbas's intention was to
"resume the peace process and the negotiations".
Rice said a special US-Israeli-Palestinian committee would
meet next week, most likely on Thursday, to examine to what
extent the sides were meeting their commitments under a
long-stalled peace "road map".
The Palestinians had sought such a meeting to put pressure
on Israel to meet its obligation to freeze settlement activity.
The road map calls on Palestinians to rein in militants.
- Reuters
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