U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may delay her upcoming visit to the region, according to Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, who told reporters on Friday that the Georgia crisis would probably force Rice to "recalibrate the schedule a little bit."
He assured journalists, however, that Rice will certainly return, as she has repeatedly over the past year, to prod Israel and the Palestinian Authority along in their final status talks. "The Secretary of State will be back to re-engage on the Israeli-Palestinian issue soon," he said.