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WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will leave for the Middle East and Europe on Friday in another US drive to revive stalled Arab-Israeli peace efforts and stabilise Iraq.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Tuesday Rice would visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany and Britain on her trip, which starts on January 12 and ends on January 19.
Rice also plans to travel to Paris later this month for an international donors conference on Lebanon, said McCormack. Beirut hopes it will raise US$4 billion to help its economy recover from a devastating war with Israel last year.
The State Department said last week Rice would focus on three issues during her Middle East trip - making progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace, promoting stability in Lebanon and finding ways to support the Iraqi government to "achieve a more stable, secure situation in Iraq."
- REUTERS
