Prior to her arrival, the foreign ministers from Germany, France and Britain will have visited the capital to meet with top government officials to discuss the latest developments in the Re-engagement War. All three are scheduled to meet with Israeli leaders on Sunday.
Even as Rice makes the rounds in her efforts to help change the landscape in Lebanon for a future peace, the United Nations Security Council has scheduled an open debate on Sunday to decide whether or not to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Rice spent last week working to blunt efforts by France on Wednesday to convince the Security Council to pass such a resolution.
She met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan the next day and underscored the decision by the Bush administration to deal with the underlying issues that sparked the conflict between Hizbullah and Israel in the first place.
Speaking to reporters at the State Department on Friday, Rice again dismissed the idea of an immediate ceasefire, calling it a “false promise” and saying that “An immediate ceasefire without political conditions does not make sense.”
Rice also pointed out that Syria has a part to play in ending the conflict. “Syria knows what it needs to do and Hizbullah is the source of the problem,” she said.
She is scheduled to meet in Rome on Wednesday with European heads of state to formulate future plans for ensuring peace in the region once a ceasefire is in place. Rice is expected back in Israel for more talks next Sunday, with the possibility of trying to implement a ceasefire at that time.
Even as Rice makes the rounds in her efforts to help change the landscape in Lebanon for a future peace, the United Nations Security Council has scheduled an open debate on Sunday to decide whether or not to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Rice spent last week working to blunt efforts by France on Wednesday to convince the Security Council to pass such a resolution.
She met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan the next day and underscored the decision by the Bush administration to deal with the underlying issues that sparked the conflict between Hizbullah and Israel in the first place.
Speaking to reporters at the State Department on Friday, Rice again dismissed the idea of an immediate ceasefire, calling it a “false promise” and saying that “An immediate ceasefire without political conditions does not make sense.”
Rice also pointed out that Syria has a part to play in ending the conflict. “Syria knows what it needs to do and Hizbullah is the source of the problem,” she said.
She is scheduled to meet in Rome on Wednesday with European heads of state to formulate future plans for ensuring peace in the region once a ceasefire is in place. Rice is expected back in Israel for more talks next Sunday, with the possibility of trying to implement a ceasefire at that time.