U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met President of Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, launching a rapid series of meetings for a new Mideast peace deal. Clinton met Abbas in Abu Dhabi after winding up a trip to Pakistan. She was due to fly to Israel later on Saturday for evening meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A senior State Department official said Clinton"s meetings were intended to supply an on-the-ground picture of where the two sides stand before she meets Arab foreign ministers at a development summit in Morocco next week to try to drum up regional support for peace moves, according to a report of Reuters. --SPA