Mideast talks yield only another meeting

JERUSALEM – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday hosted talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders on ways to build an independent Palestinian state, but the summit appeared to yield little but a pledge to meet again.

Rice’s role was intended to signal her deepening commitment to help resolve the conflict, but the talks demonstrated the difficulties. Neither Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert nor Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accompanied Rice when she met with reporters after more than two hours of talks.

The “useful and productive meeting” included discussion of the “diplomatic and political horizon” of creating a Palestinian state, Rice said, reading a statement issued in the name of the three officials.

Although Rice told reporters traveling with her that the two leaders spent “substantial time” discussing the contours of a Palestinian state, some Palestinian officials said Olmert had dismissed discussions about the future until immediate concerns were addressed, including the fate of an Israeli soldier who is being held prisoner in the Gaza Strip.

In any case, Rice acknowledged that a recent Palestinian unity deal, which will leave the militant Hamas group in power, had scaled back her ambitions.

In interviews, Palestinian officials were pessimistic about the prospects for future talks. Israeli officials appeared pleased that pressure that might have been exerted on them by the United States was deferred because of the uncertainty over the new Palestinian government.

A month ago, when the summit was announced, Rice hoped to demonstrate progress on moving toward a Palestinian state, but Abbas upended that ambition by unexpectedly agreeing to allow his moderate Fatah party to join a government led by Hamas. Abbas said he made the move to end street battles between the two factions that had killed scores of Palestinians.

In the end, Olmert and Abbas agreed only to hold another bilateral discussion on Palestinian movement and access – but not on the creation of a separate negotiating track for a Palestinian state. Rice said she expected to return to the region soon but did not specify when.