October 16, 2007 (LPAC)--U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the U.S.-led Mideast peace conference tentatively scheduled for next month in Annapolis, Maryland.

Just ahead of Rice's visit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned that Israel was trying to undermine U.S. efforts to achieve a real peace agreement between the two sides before the meeting, saying, "Without addressing these attempts, then we have to seriously think of postponing the conference to another appropriate time. Rushing into holding the meeting without an agreement over a substantive and positive document may damage opportunities to achieve a just peace."

Rice had met both Palestinian President Abu Mazen and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. At a press conference after she met Abu Mazen in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, Rice said,"The United States sees the establishment of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution as absolutely essential for the future, not just of Palestinians and Israelis but also for the Middle East and indeed to American interests. That's really a message that I think only I can deliver."

Rice will meet with both sides Wednesday after visiting Egypt. Then she will travel to London to meet Jordan's King Abdullah II.