US sticks to 'roadmap' peace plan

Powell said he had the right to listen to new ideas

The US has reaffirmed its support for the Middle East "roadmap" peace plan after talks with the authors of an unofficial peace initiative.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the roadmap still had "primacy", although he welcomed other ideas.

The two authors of the so-called Geneva Accord said they believed that Mr Powell sees their efforts as complementing the US-backed roadmap.

Israel and main Palestinian factions have rejected the alternative plan.

But the BBC's Jon Leyne says the fact that Mr Powell went ahead with the meeting with the plan's authors - Israel's Yossi Beilin and Palestinian Yasser Abed Rabbo, over strong Israeli objections, shows the Bush administration is impatient with the current stalemate in the peace process.

The Washington talks came as Palestinian factions continued their meeting in Cairo to try to agree a workable ceasefire with Israel under pressure from Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

Mr Qurei, who is expected to join the meeting later on Saturday, hopes to have something to offer Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon when the pair meet.

High-profile talks

"I had a chance to describe to them the primacy of the roadmap as the document that both sides agree upon at this moment," Mr Powell said after the talks with the two men.

The Geneva plan was launched at a gala ceremony

"It is still there and I think it's still the basis to go forward but we welcome other ideas," he added.

Deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli was even more categorical in declaring the supremacy of the US-backed roadmap.

"We come away from this meeting more convinced than ever that the roadmap is the way to go," Mr Ereli said.

However, the architects of the Geneva Accord said they were pleased with the high-profile talks.

"We were encouraged today by the words of Secretary Powell, as yesterday we were encouraged by the words of the president who described the Geneva Accord as constructive," Mr Abed Rabbo told reporters.

Demographics

Israel's centre-right government has condemned the unofficial peace plan, which was launched in Geneva on Monday.

But Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot that Israel would have to accept a Palestinian state for demographic reasons.

GENEVA ACCORD: MAIN POINTS Israeli withdrawal from almost all West Bank and Gaza Shared sovereignty over Jerusalem Palestinian renunciation of "right of return" The Geneva accord explained Profile: Geneva peacemakers

He said that due to Palestinians having a higher birth-rate than Jews, Israel had to withdraw from the Palestinian territories "to preserve our Jewish and democratic character".

He suggested Israel would withdraw to borders of its choosing to guarantee an 80% Jewish state, but did not outline specific details.

Geneva Accord

US President George W Bush says he still backs the official international plan - known as the roadmap.

He gave his blessing to Mr Powell's talks with the Geneva accord authors.

However, the two men were refused meetings with Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice.

The Geneva Accord calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state and the dismantling of most Jewish settlements, going beyond the roadmap.

It envisages shared sovereignty over Jerusalem and grants Israel the right to decide how many Palestinian refugees can return to Israel.