The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Amman

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Mideast peace talks are "moving in the right direction" although she warned Israel that it should stop new settlement activities that could upset progress. Rice's comments came after she held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the end of a three-day Mideast mission with the goal of achieving an agreement before President Bush leaves office next January. Earlier Monday, Rice met separately with both the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Israel and said that she was impressed by the seriousness of their work. "I think it's all moving in the right direction," Rice said at a news conference with Abbas, saying that things are proceeding toward the goal of reaching some sort of peace agreement by 2009 that would lead toward the creation of a Palestinian state. "I fully believe it is a goal we can reach," Rice said. Asked, however, about Israel continuing to approve construction of new housing in contested territory, Rice criticized the close U.S. ally. "Settlement activity should stop - expansion should stop," Rice said.