Secretary Rice: Travel to Turkey and the Middle East, November 1-6, 2007

U.S. Committed to Arab Peace Initiative Secretary Rice: "...The Palestinian people have waited a long time for the dignity that will come with an independent state, and the Israeli people have waited a long time for a peaceful neighbor that can help to provide real security. And I believe that those two neighbors living side by side would make a very big difference in the very nature of the Middle East itself, a region that has too long been torn by strife and by turmoil and by deprivation." Full Text Secretary Rice in Jerusalem Secretary Rice: "They are trying to establish that they have a basis for moving forward to negotiate the agreement on a Palestinian state. They're not going to, in the two weeks ... And the more that they look forward, I think, to how they're actually going to get to an agreement, which is what you -- we really want them to do; after all, any joint document will not ultimately be worth the paper it's written on if eventually, they don't get to an actual agreement on a Palestinian state." Full Text

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to Turkey, Israel, and the Palestinian territories November 1-6, 2007. The Secretary arrived in Ankara, Turkey on November 1 to pursue bilateral meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She then traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to attend a ministerial level international meeting on Iraq November 2-3. Secretary Rice visited Jerusalem and Ramallah November 4-6 to continue her discussions with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to support their ongoing bilateral dialogue and the serious effort underway to draft a joint document that could lay the foundation for negotiations. The Secretary followed up on her recent discussions with the parties on the need for progress on phase one commitments under the Roadmap both to improve conditions on the ground and to build confidence between the parties. She delivered remarks at the Saban Forum on November 4. --11/05/07 Joint Press Availability With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas --11/04/07 Remarks at the Saban Forum Dinner --11/04/07 Interview With Steve Centanni of Fox News --11/04/07 Interview With Ziad Halabi of Al-Arabiya --11/04/07 Roundtable with Traveling Press --11/04/07 Remarks With Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni --11/03/07 Briefing in Tel Aviv --11/03/07 Remarks at Intervention at Expanded Neighboring Countries of Iraq Foreign Ministers Meeting --11/03/07 Interview With Zain Verjee of CNN --11/02/07 Press Availability With Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan --11/01/07 Briefing En Route Ankara, Turkey Photos from the Middle East