US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has said she will bring together the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the coming weeks for a summit dedicated to exploring ideas for an eventual Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meets US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem this morning
The announcement came after Ms Rice met with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak following a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Rice's talks were aimed at breathing new life into stalled Mideast efforts, a key concern for top US Arab allies whose help Washington is seeking in Iraq.
Ms Rice told reporters in Luxor that her talks during the visits dealt with laying the groundwork for "a political horizon that will lead to a Palestinian state."
She said she would "soon meet" with Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas "to have discussions on the broad issues of that horizon, so we can work on the road map and try to accelerate the road map to move to a Palestinian state." She was scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia later today for similar talks.
She said the summit with Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas would take place "relatively soon" but did not set a date.
In Jerusalem, Mr Olmert told lawmakers of his Kadima party that he and Ms Rice had agreed on "a three-way meeting with Abbas" to be organised "in a short time."
The senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas was "in principle" ready to attend the summit, but details about where and when the summit would be held were not worked out.
Mr Erekat said Ms Rice is reflecting a serious and genuine interest in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. "What she said is that President Bush, in the remaining two years of his office, has no more important priority than to leave office with a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He wants to see his vision realised," he said.
Mr Olmert said his December 23rd meeting with Mr Abbas had created a certain momentum in the peace process, and "this momentum has to continue."
"It was agreed upon by both of us that the road map will continue to form the basis of the process," Mr Olmert said, referring to the stalled peace plan backed by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. The plan calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.