Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said here on Tuesday that more efforts should be exerted for the Mideast peace process.
At a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Rice said there are a lot of work to do for a U.S.-sponsored international conference on Mideast peace.
"(We have) a lot of work to do for the meeting and after the meeting," said Rice.
The top U.S. diplomat said all parties concerned would be in a position soon to determine when the U.S.-brokered Mideast conference will take place, expecting the meeting to be held as scheduled this fall.
Rice's visit to Egypt is part of a regional tour that has already taken her to Israel and the Palestinian territories where she met respectively with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to probe preparations for the Mideast peace conference.
Rice said at the press conference here on Tuesday that the aim of her regional visit is to persuade the two sides to bridge gaps between them before the planned meeting which was reported to beheld November in the United States.
For his part, Abul Gheit said it should be better to put off the meeting if the two sides need more time for a joint document, saying "If we are short of time, let's extend the time frame."
"We can not negotiate with an open-ended promise," said the Egyptian minister.
Abul Gheit said the message sent by Rice is encouraging, while stressing that Egypt is ready to help all sides' efforts leading to the establishment a Palestinian state.
Earlier in the morning, Rice had talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to seek support for the Mideast conference. After the stay in Egypt, Rice will also visit Jordan.
Source: Xinhua
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