Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    Turki Al-Sheikh crowned "Most Influential Personality in the Last Decade" at MENA Effie Awards 2024    Saudi Arabia arrests 19,696 illegals in a week    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    GACA: 1029 complaints recorded against airlines, with least complaints in Riyadh and Buraidah airports during October    CMA plans to allow former expatriates in Saudi and other Gulf states to invest in TASI    11 killed, 23 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut    Trump picks billionaire Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary    WHO: Mpox remains an international public health emergency    2 Pakistanis arrested for promoting methamphetamine    Move to ban on establishing zoos in residential neighborhoods    Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Saudi Arabia and Japan to collaborate on training Saudi students in Manga comics Saudi Minister of Culture discusses cultural collaboration during Tokyo visit    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Peace can go forward without Olmert, US says
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 30 - 07 - 2008


US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a
series of closed-door meetings Wednesday with Israeli and Palestinian
officials in an effort to nudge along the peace process, according to dpa.
Rice met with her Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni, ahead of a planned three-way meeting with chief Palestinian
negotiator Ahmed Qureia.
The United States is trying to broker a peace deal between the two
sides before President George W Bush leaves office in January, a goal
outlined at the Mideast conference Bush hosted in Annapolis, Maryland
in November.
That timeframe was thrown into question on Wednesday when Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, caught up in a corruption scandal,
announced he will not seek re-election as the head of his Kadima
Party. Livni, who backs the Annapolis process, is likely to replace
him at the helm of the party.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US intends to
push forward on the peace process regardless of the political turmoil
in Israel.
"If you wait for the perfect moment to try to help bring the two
parties together in a final agreement, you're going to be waiting
forever, because there probably never will be a perfect moment," he
said.
"You just have to deal with the political vicissitudes, whether
they're in Palestinian politics or Israeli politics," he added.
McCormack said both sides will have to make the tough compromises
that are needed to secure a deal that would create a Palestinian
state living in peace next to Israel.
"Fundamentally, they need to invest in this agreement," McCormack
said. "They need to buy into the compromises that will be necessary."
Bush, responding to criticism that he had neglected the issue,
last year identified resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a
top priority before his term runs out.
McCormack emphasized that the decisions need to be reached through
one-on-one negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians and
that Rice is just guiding the process.
"That's really the idea that underpins her style of moving the
process along," he told reporters after the meetings started.
Olmert dampened hope of an agreement when he said Monday it was
not likely that key issues such as the status of Jerusalem - which
both sides claim as their capital - could be resolved by year's end.
Rice said on Tuesday that she remained confident the Israelis and
Palestinians were determined to reach an accord by the end of the
year, responding to Olmert's remarks.
"I am quite certain and I have been assured that the government of
Prime Minister Olmert remains committed to the Annapolis vision of
concluding an agreement by the end of the year," Rice said after
meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. "There is no
doubt that this is difficult work."
The Palestinians have strongly objected to Israeli plans to expand
settlements, especially in East Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the
1967 war.
The US opposes more Israeli settlements and continues to remind
Israel that expansions violate the 2002 internationally-backed
roadmap peace plan, McCormack said.
"The fact that there are these continuing activities with respect
to settlement activity is a problem. We've talked to the Israelis
about that," McCormack said.
Vice President Dick Cheney and Bush national security adviser
Stephen Hadley are also expected to participate in the discussions.


Clic here to read the story from its source.