US draft hails steps in Mideast talks, urges more

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The United States handed the U.N. Security Council a draft resolution on Saturday that hails progress made in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks but calls for an "intensification" of efforts to secure a deal.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad said the 15-nation council would vote on the resolution on Tuesday at a meeting which U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and other foreign ministers are expected to attend.

If approved, it will be the Security Council's first resolution on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians since November 2003, when it endorsed the Middle East "road map" peace plan for eventual Palestinian statehood.

Khalilzad told reporters the resolution endorsed the goals of peace talks launched in November 2007 by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Bush administration had wanted an agreement on Palestinian statehood by the end of this year but all sides now say that will not happen. Bush leaves office on Jan. 20, when Barack Obama will become U.S. president.

"We believe it's very important at this time to recognize the progress that has been made," Khalilzad said.

It was crucial for the push for a two-state solution "to be sustained and for the council to express its support so there is no pause in the negotiations," he added.

Diplomats in New York say the highly unpopular Bush administration hopes this resolution will help draw attention to the good it has done for the Middle East and counter some of the criticism it has faced for its 2003 invasion of Iraq.

NO SPECIFICS

The text, expected to be revised before Tuesday's vote, mentions none of the specific complaints the Palestinians and Israelis have raised.

The Palestinians have said Israeli settlement building in Palestinian areas threatens to derail the peace process. U.N. diplomats said Arab delegations wanted settlements mentioned in the text but the Americans do not want to include details of specific disagreements.

Instead, the resolution urges both sides to "refrain from any steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of the negotiations" and calls for "an intensification of diplomatic efforts" aimed at securing a "comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East."

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow backed the text and agreed that the change of U.S. and Israeli administrations should not slow the peace process.

"We believe it's very important to continue the momentum," he said. "Considerable effort has been made over the last 12 months or so, and we believe that the effort has to be pinned down and it has to continue without a pause."

French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, speaking on behalf of the French presidency of the European Union, said the draft text was a "very good basis to get an agreement."

He said he was optimistic the Security Council would reach a unanimous agreement on the resolution by Tuesday.

Libya, a strong supporter of the Palestinians, is the only Arab state on the Security Council at the moment. It has repeatedly clashed with Washington on Palestinian issues.

The Palestinian delegation did not comment on the draft. (Editing by John O'Callaghan)