The announcement came on the heels of her Middle East shuttle diplomacy tour which began in Jerusalem on January 13. Rice’s visit to the region, which included meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and other regional leaders, ended with an Olmert-Abbas agreement to meet informally in Washington, D.C. in the near future.
The international Quartet will meanwhile be working on preparations for the much-anticipated meeting in Washington, said Rice. “I do think it will be useful to have a meeting of the Quartet in advance of that meeting," she said.
Rice's announcement of the Washington meeting raised suspicions that an agreement had already been worked out between the two domestically-beleaguered leaders, Olmert and Abbas.
Olmert and Abbas are expected to discuss the parameters for creating a PA state.
Rice told reporters at a news conference in Berlin that the Quartet, which includes the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, will be discussing how to lay the groundwork for the talks.
“There are a lot of ideas... about how we might get the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track and I think to get together and talk about how those ideas relate to each other will be a very useful thing,” Rice said.
Rice is expected to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday before continuing on to Britain, as she continues her tour to discuss America’s concerns in the Middle East, Iraq and Iran.
The international Quartet will meanwhile be working on preparations for the much-anticipated meeting in Washington, said Rice. “I do think it will be useful to have a meeting of the Quartet in advance of that meeting," she said.
Rice's announcement of the Washington meeting raised suspicions that an agreement had already been worked out between the two domestically-beleaguered leaders, Olmert and Abbas.
Olmert and Abbas are expected to discuss the parameters for creating a PA state.
Rice told reporters at a news conference in Berlin that the Quartet, which includes the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, will be discussing how to lay the groundwork for the talks.
“There are a lot of ideas... about how we might get the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track and I think to get together and talk about how those ideas relate to each other will be a very useful thing,” Rice said.
Rice is expected to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday before continuing on to Britain, as she continues her tour to discuss America’s concerns in the Middle East, Iraq and Iran.