U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Pacific foreign ministers in Samoa on Sunday (Saturday in Samoa local time), focusing on the situation in Fiji.
She said she would press Fiji's interim government to hold elections as promised in March 2009, the TVNZ reported.
Rice arrived in Samoa from Auckland for a three-hour stop-over where she joined more than a dozen ministers from the Pacific Islands Forum to discuss Fiji, maritime security and climate change, among other issues, said a senior U.S. official.
Fiji's interim Foreign Minister Ratu Epeli Nailatikau arrived late for the meeting at a holiday resort near the airport. Rice had made clear beforehand that she planned to give him a strong message.
Rice arrived in New Zealand late Friday. Before her short visit to New Zealand, Rice also visited Singapore and Australia on an eight-day trip that ends on Monday.
It was the first visit to Samoa by a U.S. Secretary of State for 20 years.
Rice left Auckland early Sunday with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters to attend a meeting in the South Pacific island nation of Samoa.
During her stay in Auckland on Saturday, Rice met with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, Peters and National Party leader John Key.
She also attended a reception hosted by New Zealand-U.S. Council.
Source:Xinhua
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