U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left here for the Middle East on Wednesday, hoping to secure fragile Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and leave a viable process for the incoming Obama administration.
During her four-day mideast trip, Rice will visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt. She is expected to prepare for a fresh start by the new Israeli government that will take office after the Feb. 10 Israeli parliamentary election and the incoming Obama administration, which takes office on Jan. 20.
"We're going to try to put this process in the best possible place going forward so that whomever comes next can formulate their policies, take a look at the process, and possibly use it, take it further," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
Under the U.S. pressure, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed last November at the U.S.-hosted international conference, held in Maryland's Annapolis, to relaunch the stalled peace talks aimed to hammer out a comprehensive peace treaty before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January.
Rice's visit to Israel occurred a day after Barack Obama was elected as new U.S. president on Tuesday night. Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a statement on Wednesday that Israel expects special bond with Obama-led United States.
Source:Xinhua
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