MIDDLE EAST:US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said yesterday a US-led push for Israeli-Palestinian peace had a "reasonable chance of success" as both sides sparred over a planned Middle East conference.
Dr Rice wrapped up four days of shuttle diplomacy with no sign of a breakthrough or an announcement of a final date for the international gathering that Washington sees as the most serious step towards Palestinian statehood in years.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas put Dr Rice on notice that Palestinians could opt out of the conference if talks fail with Israel over a joint document that would address key issues and lead to the revival of negotiations on a peace deal.
"It's impossible to go to the conference at any price," Mr Abbas said. "We told Secretary Rice we don't have much time, that we must make use of every minute." At a news conference with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, Dr Rice pledged the meeting, planned for November or December in Annapolis, Maryland, would be substantive and said: "I don't expect anybody to attend at any cost, including us."
Mr Abbas, who lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in June, is seeking a document that deals in detail with the most divisive issues of its conflict with the Palestinians - borders and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
Israel wants a broadbrush document and rejects Mr Abbas's call for a timeline for addressing issues and implementing any deal.
Ms Livni, who heads prime minister Ehud Olmert's negotiating team, said Israel wanted "to reach understanding on the widest possible common ground in the time available".
Asked about Palestinian accusations that the Israeli negotiating team was not serious about the talks, she replied: "I am not going to participate in this blame game." She said Israel was prepared to compromise, but did not say how, adding she hoped the Palestinians would compromise too.
"The idea is not to raise expectations that can lead to frustration and to violence, because we need to learn from past experience," she said.
Earlier in the day, Dr Rice toured Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, lit a candle and voiced hope religion could be a force for reconciliation in the Middle East. She also met with Palestinian businesspeople, academics and civil leaders.
She entered the city through a gate in a towering Israeli wall that Palestinians regard as a hated symbol of occupation. Israel says the barrier it is building in the occupied West Bank stops Palestinian suicide bombers.
Asked for her impressions of the barrier, Dr Rice said she had found it interesting and "sometimes sobering" to hear about the problems Palestinians deal with, but added: "Let's be real. There is a security problem. No one wants to have barriers."