Rice keeps tabs on West Asia, may return there

Kuala Lumpur, Jul 28: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is closely tracking efforts to push Lebanon and Israel to end their conflict and is prepared to return to the region if needed when she leaves Malaysia today, said a senior US official.

The official, who is traveling with Rice, said a final decision had not been made whether Rice would go to the West Asia this weekend but he stressed the top US diplomat was ready to step in if she felt she could push the process forward.

Rice came to an ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur from a diplomatic mission to both Beirut and Jerusalem as well as attending a international conference on Lebanon in Rome.

Two of the Bush administration's lead negotiators on the West Asia, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch and top White House official Elliott Abrams, stayed behind in the West Asia to help lay the groundwork for a deal.

The senior US official said Welch and Abrams were working hard on ''political elements'' of a deal and were reporting consistently to Rice, advising her when the time might be right for her to use her diplomatic prestige.

''Based on their progress, the Secretary (Rice) will decide whether or not it is time for her to return to the region,'' said the official.

Rice, Arab and European ministers agreed in Rome to work with urgency towards a ceasefire deal but, under US pressure, stopped far short of calling for the immediate ceasefire that Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and others had sought.

At least 445 people, mostly civilians, have been confirmed killed in Lebanon and 51 Israelis, including 18 civilians, have been killed since the conflict was triggered on July 12 when militant group Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid.

The United States has said consistently that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hizbollah and others. By not pushing for an immediate ceasefire, it gave a green light to Israel to continue its attacks on Lebanon. Rice has strongly rejected the idea that the United States is alone in not calling for an immediate ceasefire, but will not say which countries support the US stand.

She told reporters traveling with her that the West Asia was ''littered with broken ceasefires'' and the goal was to get onditions right for a lasting peace rather than a fast truce.

Last November Rice stayed up all night in Jerusalem cajoling the Palestinians and the Israelis towards a deal allowing for the crossing of goods between Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

That deal has since collapsed but Washington hopes Rice can use the same kind of influence now. Washington has said Syrian-backed Hizbollah, which also gets help from Iran, will not be party to any agreement.

Issues on the table include the creation of an international force on the border region between southern Lebanon and Israel, a prisoner exchange, the disarming of Hizbollah and the right of Lebanon to have total sovereignty over all its territory.

Lebanon is also pushing hard for Israel to pull out of the disputed Shebaa Farms border area and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora brought up the issue during the Rome conference.

Israel took control of the tiny region where Israel, Syria and Lebanon meet during the 1967 West Asia War. The United Nations and Israel both say Shebaa is Syrian land while Lebanon argues it belongs to them.

''It's been something the Lebanese have raised repeatedly and it's a feature of our discussions. For the Lebanese it is very high on the agenda but the Israelis are more focused on Hizbollah,'' said the senior US official.

REUTERS

Related Stories