Following is an excerpt from the July 29 State Department press briefing containing comments on the Middle East:

QUESTION: Phil, I wonder if you can fill in some of the details. The Secretary is saying in New Delhi that he'll meet with a Palestinian delegation, I think shortly after his return. Do you have a date? Do you know if this is a delegation of Palestinians who got their jobs from Yasser Arafat, and could you tell us their names or titles if you have them?

MR. REEKER: I don't think I can fill in too many more details at this point, Barry. You did, in fact, hear what the Secretary said in New Delhi; that is, that he does expect to meet with a Palestinian delegation after he has returned. That would be sometime next week. You'll recall that last week he met with an Israeli delegation.

This is part of our continuing series of meetings. We have a series of meetings this week in Washington; in fact, Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher of Jordan was here this morning meeting with the Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Armitage. Of course later this week the King of Jordan, King Abdullah, will be here with meetings in this building -- actually, meetings with officials from this building and also meeting with the President. Israeli Foreign Minister Peres will also have separate meetings here and at the White House. As Secretary Powell indicated and you reiterated, he has confirmed his intent to meet with a Palestinian delegation next week upon his return.

I don't have any more details of who those individuals may be, but this is part of the close consultations we are having with the parties, with regional leaders regarding our support for Palestinian civil reform, a renewal of security cooperation and the resumption of a political dialogue. All of that, of course, keeping with the strategy outlined by President Bush in his June 24 speech and the statements of the Quartet more recently.

QUESTION: Well, is the United States or the State Department, which seems to be the lead on this, did they make known to the Palestinian Authority -- they know quite a bit about the various officials -- did they make known who their preferences are to talk to on the theory that you don't want Arafat? Or maybe it doesn't matter. But, you know, you've accused the Authority of being entwined with corruption and terrorism, and you're not meeting with Arafat, but does that mean you'll meet with just about anybody else or do you have some sort of a litmus test?

MR. REEKER: Barry, again, I don't know at this point who will come to Washington to meet with the Secretary from the Palestinians. But as we've said, and as the President said in his speech, we look for new leadership, we look for reform, civil reform within the Palestinian groups, and look to meet with representatives of the Palestinians, as the Secretary said, who can speak on behalf of the Palestinian people. This is consistent with the plan that the President laid out in terms of transformation of the Palestinian community. It's consistent with the work that the Quartet has been doing. But at this point I just can't give you any specific names of who may be coming to Washington. We'll try to get you more details as that evolves during the coming week.

Elise.

QUESTION: Beyond just meeting with them and consulting with them, I mean, are there any specific goals of this meeting, such as, are you looking for any kind of report on some of the reforms that are taking place, or are you going to speak with them about implementing some of the security ideas that the Secretary had spoken about? I mean, what's the -- without getting into specifics on the agenda, what's the goal?

MR. REEKER: I think, as I said, I outlined that, that the goal is in line with what the President suggested and what he laid out in terms of transformation of the Palestinian community, in terms of civil reform and steps being taken in that direction, in terms of renewal of security cooperation, which you mentioned, resumption of a political dialogue. There was a resumption of direct dialogue between the parties last week, for instance. This should help improve the situation on the ground. There are reports of a meeting tomorrow between the Israeli Defense Minister and Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razzak al-Yahya. We think that is a very positive step that can help restore trust and confidence in the resumption of a political process.

As we move forward with this strategy, with the strategy that the President has outlined, that the Secretary has talked about at length, that the international community has embraced and supported, it is clear that both sides have to do all that they can to end the violence and terror and work to create an environment in which progress is possible. In terms of Palestinian civil and security reform progressing, reciprocal Israeli steps like easing closures, handing over tax revenues to responsible parties, facilitating movement of humanitarian goods and services, those will all be critical steps. Reports of progress on these issues are encouraging, as I noted, and we are going to urge the parties to continue their direct discussions in this regard. As you know, there's the International Task Force that includes members of the Quartet, as well as other donor countries interested in helping create appropriate accountable structures in the Palestinian community. So ultimately we want to see the resumption of a political dialogue that has as its objective achievement of the President's vision of the two states living side by side in peace and security.

QUESTION: Foreign Minister Muasher said that he was getting receptive comments, positive comments, from the American side about possible third-party monitoring. Can you say whether the position has changed? The US has generally said both sides have to agree to it. Have you moved forward on that at all?

MR. REEKER: I don't think I can suggest any change in position. I saw the Foreign Minister's comments. We are always pleased to welcome our good friends from Jordan, certainly the Foreign Minister, here to Washington. As I mentioned I think, and you indicated, he met with Deputy Secretary Armitage this morning, and some of that's in preparation for the meetings King Abdullah will have later this week.

As a close friend and partner in this process, we appreciate talking to Jordan, hearing their views, discussing all of our bilateral issues and regional issues. I just don't think I have anything particularly new to announce in that regard. I think we'll look to the meetings with the King and the President later this week. We consult regularly with the Jordanians regarding our regional efforts and certainly look to today's meetings as part of that process.

QUESTION: Well, is this under active discussion in the State Department, whether the US would be receptive to taking part in third-party monitoring?

MR. REEKER: I think it's been discussed in -- during the Quartet meetings, some of the statements we've put out. I don't have anything new to add beyond those things, and I think that's what the Foreign Minister indicated as well.

QUESTION: He talked about a three-year plan, actually, a work plan, timelines, specifying obligations of the parties, and this would be monitored. Is the idea of a specific three-year work plan something the Administration has --

MR. REEKER: If you look back at President Bush's speech of June 24th, he talked very much about three years and the goals, the vision that he has for two states living side by side in peace and security, and that we can do that in three years if the parties are both serious, if everyone takes their responsibilities. And so that's part of these discussions, part of the meetings we're having this week with the Jordanians, what we discussed last week with an Israeli delegation. We've met in the Quartet format with others in the international community on this subject.

And so that is what we are pursuing, and we will let the meetings continue to take place, including the President's meetings later this week and the Secretary's meetings next week, and see how we can move ahead with exactly what we've outlined.

QUESTION: But is a timetable something that --

MR. REEKER: Something we'll need to discuss. The President has been quite clear that we can do this if everybody accepts their responsibilities, and we'll be looking at ways to move forward. As I indicated, we have had some encouraging signs in terms of discussions between the two parties. We need to see security progress. We need to make sure that terror incidents are dealt with, that we get the violence down so that we can proceed with the dialogue that we think is so important.

Teri.

QUESTION: One more question on the Palestinian delegation. Is the makeup of the delegation going to be something that the US would want to approve before they come, or is it an offer to talk and whoever the Palestinians themselves believe should be coming is okay with you?

MR. REEKER: I think we will have to discuss it with them. That discussion is still taking place. I just can't offer you any particular specifics on who would be coming. We're looking for people as the Secretary has said --

QUESTION: Right, I don't mean that.

MR. REEKER: We are looking for people, as the Secretary has said, who can make a difference, speak for the Palestinian community, who can offer constructive leadership. That's what we'll be looking for -- people who can advance the process.

QUESTION: But do you -- will you have to agree in advance with whom you'll meet?

MR. REEKER: Well, obviously we will know who we are meeting with. I just don't -- I can't tell you who it is at this point. Anybody that's coming to the United States we'll know in due course, but I just can't suggest at this point who that might be.

(end excerpt)