U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Arab states should contribute more aid to the Palestinian Authority to support Mideast peace efforts, reported VOA.
Rice says Arab countries that have resources to build a Palestinian state should look at how much they can offer, rather than how little.
She did not name any countries, but a U.S. official says she was referring to Kuwait, Qatar and others who have yet to provide budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority.
Secretary Rice was speaking en route to London, where she meets Friday with foreign ministers of the Mideast Quartet that is mediating Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The Quartet includes the U.S, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
Quartet officials also will join a meeting of donor nations in London to discuss aid to the Palestinian territories.
Later today, Secretary Rice will meet her counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China in the British capital for talks on Iran's nuclear program.
Rice says she doubts that a package of incentives offered by the six nations to Iran will persuade it to suspend its nuclear work. She says she is open to discussing modest improvements to the package, but sees little chance of that working.
Instead, Rice says the six nations should push for the full implementation of U.N. sanctions on Iran. The U.S. and other Western nations suspect Iran is developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian energy program, a charge Iran denies.
During her visit to London, Rice also is expected to discuss the future of Kosovo with European officials.