Rice omits date for achieving Mideast peace deal

Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said here Tuesday there was still a chance to reach an Israeli-Palestinian deal on the outlines of a Palestinian state, but stopped saying it could be sealed by the end of the year.

"We still believe that we have a chance to reach an agreement on the basic contours of a peaceful Palestinian state. I know that this is ambitious," Rice told the annual policy conference of the pro-Israel lobby, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"But if we can pursue this goal by the end of the year, it will be an historic breakthrough."

In the past, US officials have spoken of actually reaching a deal on the outlines of such a state by the end of the year, when US President George W Bush prepares to leave office.