Albright discusses Vatican's Jerusalem plan

Mrs Albright wants a solution to the Jerusalem question

By Richard Lister in Washington

The US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has arrived in Rome for talks at the Vatican on the Middle East peace process.

She will meet the Vatican Foreign Minister, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, on Tuesday to discuss the Pope's suggestions for the future of Jerusalem.

The question of who gets sovereignty over Jerusalem could make or break an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, and Mrs Albright wants to encourage the Vatican's support for a compromise.

Her trip to the Vatican is part of a wider American effort to enlist support for a compromise after the breakdown of the Camp David talks

The Old City, with its sites sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians, is perhaps the most difficult part of the Jerusalem question.

Shortly after the Camp David peace talks broke down last week, the Pope suggested that the city be given a special status, backed by international guarantees.

Proposals

In her talks with Archbishop Tauran, Mrs Albright will want to hear more about that suggestion, but will also brief him on American proposals.

The issue of Jerusalem has stalled the peace talks

Although the United States refuses to talk publicly about its own position on Jerusalem, Mrs Albright says any agreement would probably involve different compromises over the holy sites, the old city and other parts of Jerusalem.

But she acknowledged that neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis have shown much interest in giving the city a new international status.

Another Senior State Department official is spending two weeks briefing Arab leaders.

The hope is that when and if the talks resume in earnest, the key backers of the peace process will have a better understanding - and more support - for the kind of deal that could be done.