U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
arrives at the Old Cataract hotel in Aswan, Egypt. Rice held talks with
key Middle East allies Saturday about reviving an Arab plan for peace with
Israel that might also help invigorate troubled Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations, a senior U.S. official said.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo
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CAIRO,
March 25 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday
called for active diplomacy to revive the stalled Middle East peace process on
the basis of two-state solution.
At a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign
Ministers Ahmed Abul Gheit after her talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
earlier Sunday in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, Rice expressed hope that
every state would search very deep to see what it can do at this crucial time to
finally end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"The Palestinian people have waited long enough to
have a state of their own and the Israeli people have waited long enough to have
the kind of security that will come from the establishment of a stable and
democratic neighbor to live in peace with," she said at the press conference
broadcast live on Egypt's Nile TV.
Rice said that she and Mubarak discussed several
issues, including the situation in the region at large with emphasis on the
Palestinian file, democracy in Iraq, Iran's nuclear file and Sudan's situation,
as well as Egypt's internal reform.
She asserted that the United States is a supporter of
the Mideast peace process to establish an independent Palestinian state to live
peacefully side by side with Israel, which is one of the highest priorities of
U.S. President Bush's administration.
Answering questions whether the Saudi Arabia is
competing with Egypt in regional influence, Rice hailed Egypt's central role as
along time leader in seeking peace and security in the region.
Likewise, Rice said that the U.S. did not suggest any
amendments to the Arab peace initiative adopted by the 2002 Arab summit in
Beirut, noting that it is for the Arab League, the Arab states to decide how to
use the initiative to exert active diplomacy to achieve the two-state solution
of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
For his part, Abul Gheit expressed Egypt's support to
U.S. efforts to revive the Middle East peace process, hoping that the U.S. would
succeed in attaining a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process.
Abul Gheit called for support to a Palestinian
government and authority to pave the way for a viable peace process in the
region.
On Saturday evening, Rice, who arrived in Aswan on
Saturday, met with foreign ministers and security chiefs of the Arab Quartet,
which groups Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
calling for a broader Arab-Israeli reconciliation to help promote peace between
Israelis and Palestinians.
Aswan is the first stop of Rice's recent Middle East
tour, which will also take her to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan
to pursue efforts to revive the Mideast peace process. The visit came just days
before the Arab summit in Riyadh due for March 28-29.
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