Secretary Rice's Travel to Russia and the Middle East

The Secretary will visit Moscow with Secretary of Defense Gates October 12-13 to engage in strategic security talks with their Russian counterparts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and Minister of Defense Anatoliy Serdyukov. The discussions will center on a number of security issues of mutual concern, including cooperation in the area of Missile Defense.

Secretary Rice will visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah October 14-18 to meet with leaders from Israel and the Palestinian Authority in support of the ongoing efforts to lay a foundation for serious negotiations on the establishment of a Palestinian state as soon as possible. The Secretary supports these efforts and stands ready to assist the parties as they work through these issues. We look forward to an international meeting later this fall, which we expect to be substantive and serious, about the core issues, and focused on supporting the efforts of Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas to realize the President’s vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security.

The Secretary will also travel to Egypt on October 16^th and to Jordan on October 18^th for meetings with leaders in each country in support of the peace process.

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