U.S.' Rice may not go to Olympic closing ceremonies
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may cancel her appearance at the closing ceremonies of the Olympics because of the crisis in war-torn Georgia, the State Department said on Thursday.
"It's quite possible that she may not make that trip but I don't want to say that it's not going to happen," a State Department official said, speaking on condition he not be named.
"Georgia is a priority right now; she's got Georgia on her mind," the official said.
Rice, a keen sports enthusiast, had intended to watch some of the Olympics competition in the final days of the games before attending the closing ceremonies in Beijing. The Olympics end on August 24.
President George W. Bush attended the Games' opening ceremonies, which took place last Friday. Bush met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the games as fighting raged in Georgia.
The conflict began last week after Georgia tried to regain control of the pro-Russian separatist province of South Ossetia and Russia launched a massive counter-offensive. Both sides have agreed to a French-brokered ceasefire, but Russian troops remain in Georgia.
Rice is currently on a trip to France for talks with the government on its mediation efforts, and she travels to Georgia's capital, Tbilisi on Friday to show U.S. support.
NATO foreign ministers are also planning to meet on Tuesday in Belgium to discuss the Georgia crisis.
Palestinian negotiators said after meeting Rice in Washington last month that she was expected in Israel and the West Bank next week as part of her Middle East peacekeeping efforts. That could also be delayed.
"She plans to go to the region, I just can't give you the dates yet," department spokesman Robert Wood said when asked about Rice's plans to go to the Middle East.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
