Speaking to reporters following a meeting of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators Sunday, Condoleezza Rice said: "Coming to this meeting also brings with it certain responsibilities."
"We hope that those who come are really committed to helping the Israelis and the Palestinians find a way through. And that means renouncing violence, it means working for a peaceful solution," she said.
The Arab League panel comprises Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt. Only Jordan and Egypt maintain diplomatic ties with Israel. Syria has been accused by the U.S. of supplying arms to radical Palestinian groups at war with the Jewish state.
Earlier Sunday, the Quartet welcomed the conference, which is to take place in Washington in November and is designed to secure a broader support for peace between Israel, the Palestinian National Authority and other Arab states.
Some Arab countries have been skeptical about the planned conference and have demanded more details.
At a news conference after a meeting of the U.S. Russia, EU and the UN at the UN headquarters, the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Quartet's new envoy to the Middle East, said a plan to give the Palestinians statehood could take shape before the end of this year.
