Rice Seeks Egyptian Backing

CAIRO — Secretary of State Rice sought support from Egypt today in her quest to nudge Israelis and Palestinian Arabs closer together before a Mideast peace conference.

Egypt's foreign minister, however, warned that planned meeting might have to be postponed unless a substantive agreement can be reached ahead of time.

Ms. Rice arrived in Cairo and was scheduled to speak with Egyptian President Mubarak, who has played a key role in mediating large and small conflicts between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs and among squabbling Palestinian Arabs factions.

Ahead of Ms. Rice's stop in Egypt, the country's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, accused some in Israel of trying to "deplete American efforts" to have a real peace agreement between the two sides for the peace meeting, tentatively set to take place in the Annapolis, Md., in late November.

"Without addressing these attempts, then we have to seriously think of postponing the conference to another appropriate time," Mr. Aboul Gheit said in a statement late yesterday. "Rushing into holding the meeting without an agreement over a substantive and positive document may damage opportunities to achieve a just peace."

Yesterday, after talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Ms. Rice said Israel and the Palestinian Arabs must agree on how and when to start formal peace talks.

In one of her strongest statements yet on the issue, Ms. Rice declared that creation of a Palestinian Arab state is a key American interest and urged the two sides to drop contentious demands and reach consensus on a substantive joint statement ahead of the international conference.