US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice glossed over differences between Israel and the Palestinians about the agenda for a US-sponsored peace conference. The meeting, she said, would not avoid the hardest issues in the six-decade conflict.
The Palestinians want the international conference, expected in November or December in the US, to yield an outline for a peace deal with a timetable. Israel wants a more vague declaration of intent.
Both sides are seeking an independent Palestinian state -- Israelis for the relief and increased security that separation could bring, Palestinians for control of their fate independent of Israeli occupation.
Rice on Thursday said Israel and the Palestinians are addressing "critical, core issues" in preparation for the meeting.
During a press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Rice was not specific about whether that means the three questions that have hung over past peace efforts: final borders of a Palestinian state, the status of disputed Jerusalem and the rights of Palestinian refugees.
The US has preferred to leave the contours of the conference vague and avoid using the sometimes loaded language that has grown up around the suspicious relationship between Israelis and Palestinians.
Standing with Rice at his West Bank headquarters, Abbas said his side is sincere in working for what he called a "final status framework agreement" that would address the three largest questions.
Borders, refugees and Jerusalem are together called "final status issues."
Rice did not reply directly. But she told reporters later that the conference will tackle those issues. She also said they will be addressed in the document that the US wants Israel and the Palestinians to sign at the meeting.
"Everyone knows that there are a set of issues that are going to have to be resolved if there's going to be a Palestinian state and these are among them," Rice told reporters aboard her plane returning to Washington. "No one doubts or is trying to hide that those issues are going to have to be resolved."
Rice said the document, meant to be a cornerstone for peace talks, is not likely to include a timeline for setting up the future state.
Israeli and Palestinian government aides have described the document variously as an outline of a peace deal or a lesser summation of areas where the two sides already agree. It is supposed to be a building block for peace talks.
Israel has said it is premature to discuss the thorniest issues.
Rice said both sides are working on an agreement that would guide their negotiations toward a final deal.
"The issue is to move the process forward through a document that will help to lay a foundation so that there can be serious negotiations on the establishment of a Palestinian state as soon as possible," Rice said. "That's the purpose."
Rice said she was encouraged by the rapport and shared commitment of Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who have met regularly in recent months.
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