Clinton to visit Mideast, Europe

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-28 21:05

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is using her second overseas trip as the nation's top diplomat to assess peace prospects in the Middle East, reconnect with European allies and remind her Russian counterpart that US efforts to rebuild relations with Moscow has its limits.

In this Feb 5, 2009 file photo, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton listens during her joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner at the State Department in Washington. [Agencies]

The former first lady and former US senator from New York is kicking off a weeklong journey by attending an international conference in Egypt where she will announce on Monday a US government pledge of up to $900 million in humanitarian assistance for the rebuilding of the war-shaken Gaza Strip.

The Palestinians are seeking $2.8 billion dollars for Gaza. A key complication is that the United States does not recognize the Hamas movement that rules Gaza and will not allow aid money to flow through Hamas.

The pledge conference for Gaza reflects in part a US effort to move quickly to influence events there, where the Islamic militants of Hamas are aligned with Iran and opposed to peace talks with Israel. Hamas is at odds with the other key Palestinian faction, Fatah, which takes a more moderate approach to Israel.

Clinton also will visit Israel to underscore President Barack Obama's commitment to finding a "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that establishes a sovereign Palestinian state at peace with Israel.

After its elections Feb 10, Israel is operating under a caretaker government. The hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to form a coalition government but the timing and outcome are in doubt.

Among leaders Clinton would be expected to visit in Israel are Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, leader of the centrist Kadima Party, which won one more seat in the election than Netanyahu's Likud. Netanyahu, who opposes moving forward in peace talks with the Palestinians, was asked to put together the next government because he has the support of a majority of the elected lawmakers.

Clinton also will venture into the West Bank to meet with leaders of the Palestinian Authority, including Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas.

After focusing her first foreign trip on the Pacific Rim of Asia, Clinton is going to the Middle East and to Europe to try to build on what the Obama administration believes is early enthusiasm in those regions for changing the dynamic of relations with America after years of disconnect on many key issues.

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