By NNN-KUNA,
Washington : US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice heads to the Middle East on Sunday to meet with Palestinian and Israeli officials to push for a peace deal by the end of the year.
“Rice will meet with senior Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including ongoing efforts to create positive and lasting peace in the region and progress towards the shared goal of a peace agreement in 2008”, said State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack on Friday.
Rice will follow-up on these series of trilateral meetings between Palestinians and Israelis that took place in Berlin, Jerusalem and Washington.
A third round of negotiations is also expected to happen in New York in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.