Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Postcards to the President
Messages from citizens around the world
Watch Now
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Rice tries to preserve Mideast peace talks
Wed Nov 5, 2008 7:00pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to the Middle East on Wednesday to set the stage for future Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that both sides acknowledge will not produce an agreement this year.
The decision to hold an Israeli election in three months has effectively killed U.S. President George W. Bush's goal of securing a peace deal this year to end the six-decade conflict.
While Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are expected to continue, Israel's political uncertainty and Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday leave the Bush administration with limited influence in its waning days.
U.S. officials have said Rice, on a four-day trip to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt, has no intention of floating her own proposals to advance a last-minute deal.
Rather, she will try to prepare for a fresh start by the new Israeli government that will take office after the February 10 Israeli parliamentary election and the incoming Obama administration, which takes office on January 20.
"We're going to try to put this process in the best possible place going forward so that whomever comes next can formulate their policies, take a look at the process, and possibly use it, take it further," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
Asked if this was a tacit admission that Bush would fail in his objective of getting a deal on paper this year, a U.S. official who asked not to be named said: "That's implied."
NO PROGRESS
Despite extensive Israeli-Palestinian talks, there have been no signs of tangible progress on the thorniest issues, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Rice plans to meet senior Israeli and Palestinian officials before visiting the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States -- will be briefed by both sides.
With no Israeli-Palestinian deal in sight, she was considering issuing her own statement summing up the outcome of the talks, a senior Israeli official said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rice's focus during her visit would be to ensure the peace process continues after Bush leaves office.
"They don't intend to close the door" to a deal, the official said, but he noted that both Israeli and the Palestinian leaders have publicly conceded that a deal this year is out of reach.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the senior U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, on Tuesday that the peace process should continue but that Washington must not expect Israel to take "shortcuts" to reach a deal, an aide to Livni said.
Livni, the head of the centrist Kadima party, is a leading contender to succeed Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, along with conservative former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vocal critic of the peace process. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
CORRECTED: After two-year marathon, Obama heads back to gym
Also on Reuters
Analysis: Even with mandate, Obama faces health care pain
Analysis: Why John McCain lost the White House
Analysis: Obama faces daunting wartime transition
Editor's Choice
Pictures
Video
Articles
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Soft power
NY cheers
John McCain
Top News: Obama takes aim at the Greenspan era
Politics: Big foreign policy challenges await Obama
US: Black Americans celebrate Obama's victory
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
World leaders' quotes on Obama election win
Obama aims for smooth transition | Video
Iran warns U.S. military after Obama win | Video
Four Senate races still undecided
Americans joyous, worried after Obama victory
Israel-Hamas violence disrupts Gaza truce | Video
California stops gay marriage amid Obama victory
Al Franken falls short in Senate bid
Democrats expand majorities in Congress | Video
ANALYSIS-Obama victory signals shift in US race relations
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Obama wins U.S presidency
Obama, Biden take the stage
Winslet's revealing photo spread
Barack Obama Elected President
McCain concedes
US media projects Obama victory
New Yorkers cheer
Obama supporters gather in Harlem
Obama Wins Ohio
Obama poised to win White House
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
Is it goodbye to Cuban embargo?
Barack Obama has promised to "ease" sanctions on Cuba but he has not said what it would take to end an embargo that has been kept in place by 10 successive presidents, writes columnist Bernd Debusmann. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.