Rice, UN chief to revive Mideast peace process
Amman,
Mar
26:
The
United
Nations
today
floated
the
idea
of
a
meeting
bringing
together
Israel,
the
Palestinians
and
Arab
states
as
US
Secretary
of
State
Condoleezza
Rice
visited
the
region
to
try
to
revive
peace
talks.
Israeli
Prime
Minister
Ehud
Olmert
said
he
would
''not
hesitate
to
participate''
if
invited
to
an
expanded
meeting
of
the
Quartet
of
West
Asia
mediators.
But
US
officials
played
down
the
idea,
saying
it
was
one
of
several
possibilities
under
consideration
and
that
no
decisions
had
been
made.
Rice
yesterday
met
separately
with
Palestinian
President
Mahmoud
Abbas
and
Olmert
to
gauge
the
chances
for
peace
talks
in
which
both
sides
would
initially
talk
to
the
United
States
rather
than
directly
to
each
other.
However,
she
said
she
was
not
striving
for
a
''big
bang''
breakthrough.
In
Amman,
Rice
met
for
a
second
time
in
24
hours
with
Abbas.
She
was
scheduled
to
meet
later
with
Jordan's
King
Abdullah
before
returning
to
Jerusalem
for
further
talks
with
Olmert.
Rice
has
been
touring
the
West
Asia
trying
to
persuade
Arab
governments
to
breathe
new
life
into
a
peace
plan
they
ratified
in
2002
by
adding
what
she
calls
''active
diplomacy''
--
seen
as
code
for
early
contacts
with
Israelis.
UN
Secretary-General
Ban
Ki-moon,
also
on
a
visit
to
the
region,
today
said
that
Israeli
and
Palestinian
leaders,
along
with
officials
from
Saudi
Arabia,
Egypt,
Jordan
and
the
United
Arab
Emirates,
could
be
invited
to
attend
the
next
Quartet
meeting,
expected
to
take
place
in
the
region.
''It
is
a
very
interesting,
useful
idea
to
consider.
But
we
need
more
consultations,''
Ban
said.
The
United
Nations
is
part
of
the
Quartet,
whose
other
members
include
the
United
States,
the
European
Union
and
Russia.
A
public
meeting
that
brings
Israeli
and
Saudi
leaders
together
would
be
a
breakthrough.
The
countries
do
not
have
formal
relations,
though
there
have
been
reports
of
informal
Saudi
contacts
with
Olmert.
Sticking
to
Road
Map
Rice
believes
steps
toward
a
broader
Arab-Israeli
reconciliation
would
make
it
easier
to
make
progress
on
the
long-stalled
Israeli-Palestinian
front.
On
her
fourth
visit
to
the
West
Asia
in
four
months,
Rice
is
talking
to
the
Israelis
and
Palestinians
separately
because
Olmert
has
so
far
ruled
out
engaging
Abbas
on
peace
since
the
Fatah
leader
formed
a
Palestinian
unity
government
with
the
Islamist
Hamas
faction.
At
a
press
conference
in
Jerusalem
with
Ban,
Olmert
said
that
a
long-stalled
''road
map''
peace
plan
''will
be
the
basis
for
advancement
here
between
us
and
the
Palestinians.''
Neither
the
Israelis
nor
the
Palestinians
have
fulfilled
their
commitments
under
the
peace
plan,
which
calls
for
Israel
to
halt
settlement
building
in
the
occupied
West
Bank
and
the
Palestinians
to
dismantle
militant
groups.
The
2002
plan
touted
by
Rice,
known
as
the
Saudi
initiative,
offers
Israel
normal
ties
with
Arab
countries
in
return
for
full
withdrawal
from
land
it
occupied
in
the
1967
West
Asia
war.
Olmert
has
urged
Arab
states
to
advance
the
proposal
but
Israel
has
said
it
cannot
accept
some
of
the
terms.
Israel
and
the
Quartet
of
West
Asia
negotiators
have
demanded
the
Palestinian
government
recognise
Israel,
renounce
violence
and
accept
existing
peace
deals.
The
new
unity
administration
has
agreed
only
to
''respect''
previous
accords
and
has
stopped
short
of
recognising
Israel
or
giving
up
the
right
to
armed
struggle.
Analysts
doubt
Rice
can
make
much
progress
given
Olmert's
political
weakness
--
one
opinion
poll
this
month
showed
he
would
win
as
little
as
3
per
cent
of
the
vote
if
an
election
were
held
immediately
--
and
the
divisions
among
the
Palestinians.
Reuters