Rice to discuss with Israeli-Palestinians leaders

Washington, Feb 7: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will hold discussions with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on February 19 on the final status issues which include the borders of a Palestinian state, refugees and Jerusalem.

The agenda of the talks and their venue are still being worked out. The meeting is likely to take place in West Asia.

The trilateral process would offer "an initial opportunity" for Olmert and Abbas "to begin a discussion about the issues that would concern the framework of a possible Palestinian state," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday.

He said, ''each side will have various issues that they will want to bring up,'' such as security, checkpoints, economy and trade, and political questions such as borders.

''This is their first opportunity to discuss these in more than six years,'' McCormack said. ''We would hope that this venue would be one that the Israelis and Palestinians would avail themselves of into the future as they work on the day-to-day issues.'' Although Rice planned to take the trilateral process "one step at a time," she continually will be encouraging both sides to reach understandings, he said.

''She has committed publicly to dedicating her focus and energies to trying to lay a foundation so that one day the Israelis and the Palestinians can realise the dream of having two states living side by side in peace and security.'' The spokesman expressed appreciation for Saudi King Abdallah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud's mediation efforts in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, between the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas groups and urged "all responsible parties in the region to make every effort they can to help bring down the level of violence," saying ''ultimately it is the innocent civilians who get caught in the crossfire, who pay the price for that violence.''

UNI