Rice, Seeking Ceasefire, Flies to Beirut
Rice, Seeking Ceasefire, Flies to Beirut
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made a surprise stop in
Beirut for crisis talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
about Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Rice thanked the Lebanese leader for his "courage and steadfastness"
as they began their talks.
She took a heavily armored helicopter to Beirut from Cyprus for the
first stop of her regional trip, which is also expected to focus on
getting aid to Lebanese civilians.
From Beirut, Rice will head to Jerusalem for talks with Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, and then to the West Bank for talks with
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
On her way to the region, Rice said she is working for an urgently
needed ceasefire in the conflict, which is now in its 13th day. But
she says any ceasefire must address the root cause of the current
conflict - the threat that Hezbollah poses to Israel. She says Iran
and Syria's active support for the militants has fanned the flames
of conflict.
赖斯赞黎巴嫩领导人勇气决心
美国国务卿赖斯突访贝鲁特，与黎巴嫩总理辛尼奥拉就以色列打击黎巴嫩境内的
真主党而引发的危机进行会谈。
在会谈开始时，赖斯感谢黎巴嫩领导人的“勇气和决心”。
赖斯搭乘武装防备严密的直升飞机从塞浦路斯飞往贝鲁特。贝鲁特是她对该地区
访问的第一站。预计，赖斯此次访问的重点是为黎巴嫩平民争取援助。
访问贝鲁特之后，赖斯将飞往耶路撒冷，会晤以色列总理奥尔默特，然后再前往
约旦河西岸，与巴勒斯坦领导人阿巴斯会谈。
在访问途中，赖斯表示正在努力促成以色列和真主党之间实现刻不容缓的停火。
这场冲突已经持续了13天。赖斯说，任何停火都必须解决这场冲突的根源问题，
也就是真主党对以色列构成威胁。赖斯还说，伊朗与叙利亚对激进分子的积极支
持是对冲突火上浇油。
