LOC23:46
20:46 GMT
WASHINGTON, DEC 10 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said on
Monday that Syrias role in the Middle East peace process after Annapolis
conference "will be helpful".
"I would hope that Syria would support the legitimate authority of the
Palestinians", said Rice in her appearance at the Womens Foreign Policy Group
referring to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"Everyone understands that Syria is a party to the conflict, that there are
tracks other than the Palestinian-Israeli track that will ultimately have to
be resolved if there is to be a comprehensive peace in the Middle East", she
added.
Rice did not rule out the possibility of negotiations between Syria and
Israel noting that Damascus would play "a helpful role" in the Middle East
peace process.
"The United States is going to support efforts of peace whenever they come,
wherever they come", she said asserting that the Palestinian-Israeli track is
"the one that is now most mature".
Rice affirmed that the two-state solution "is going to have to be achieved
soon" and argued that Hamas "is going to have to make a choice ultimately"
about how to deal with this ongoing negotiation track.
Rice said that the United States is "supporting responsible Palestinian
leaders as they work together to secure their streets from extremist enemies"
and is "affirming our historic support for Israel's security, so its leaders
will be confident in their pursuit of peace".
"The Palestinians have waited too long for the dignity that will come with
their own state. And the Israelis have waited too long for the security that
will come in sitting side by side with a democratic neighbor", she said.
Rice criticized the Israeli built of hundred of apartments in Jerusalem
"This is a time that we should be building confidence and this is not
something that builds confidence. It does not help to build confidence", she
said. (end)
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