Rice, Abbas hope for Mideast peace deal

RAMALLAH – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas expressed hope yesterday that a Middle East peace deal can be reached before President George W Bush leaves office.

“The Palestinian people have waited a long time for the dignity that will come with an independent state and the Israeli people have waited a long time for a peaceful neighbour that can help to provide real security,” Rice said. She expressed hope that an upcoming Middle East peace conference in the United States could be the “launching pad” for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations leading the way to a Palestinian state.”Negotations that I sincerely hope, as (Israeli) Prime Minister (Ehud) Olmert said last night, that could achieve their goals in the time remaining in the Bush administration.”Rice was speaking after talks with Abbas and other top Palestinian officials on her eighth visit to the region this year in a bid to advance efforts to revive full peace talks after seven years of stalemate.”I am tremendously impresed by the seriousness of both parties.I was impressed last night by prime minister Olmert’s very clear nessage that he sees Annapolis as a launching pad for negotiations on all outstanding issues.”Everybody’s goal is the creation of a Palestinian state…Everything that we’re doing, meetings and conferences and all of those things are to acheive as soon as we possibly can the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.Abbas told the same news conference that progress was being made in preparations for the US-sponsored conference, for which no date has yet been set but which is widely expected to take place before the end of the year.The Palestinian leader praised the ‘determination’ of Bush and Rice to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement before the end of the current White House administration.Nampa-AFPShe expressed hope that an upcoming Middle East peace conference in the United States could be the “launching pad” for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations leading the way to a Palestinian state.”Negotations that I sincerely hope, as (Israeli) Prime Minister (Ehud) Olmert said last night, that could achieve their goals in the time remaining in the Bush administration.”Rice was speaking after talks with Abbas and other top Palestinian officials on her eighth visit to the region this year in a bid to advance efforts to revive full peace talks after seven years of stalemate.”I am tremendously impresed by the seriousness of both parties.I was impressed last night by prime minister Olmert’s very clear nessage that he sees Annapolis as a launching pad for negotiations on all outstanding issues.”Everybody’s goal is the creation of a Palestinian state…Everything that we’re doing, meetings and conferences and all of those things are to acheive as soon as we possibly can the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.Abbas told the same news conference that progress was being made in preparations for the US-sponsored conference, for which no date has yet been set but which is widely expected to take place before the end of the year.The Palestinian leader praised the ‘determination’ of Bush and Rice to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement before the end of the current White House administration.Nampa-AFP