Washington, Oct 25, SPA -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to Turkey, Israel, and the Palestinian territories during the first week of November, the State Department announced Wednesday. Rice will arrive in Ankara, Turkey on November 1 to hold bilateral meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She then will travel to Istanbul to attend an international ministerial-level meeting on Iraq on November 2 and 3, the department said in a statement. The top U.S. diplomat will visit Jerusalem and Ramallah from November 4 to 6 to continue her discussion with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to support their ongoing bilateral dialogue and the “serious” effort to draft a joint document that could lay the foundation for a peace deal, the statement said.“The secretary will follow up on her recent discussion with the parties on the need for progress on phase-one commitments under the roadmap, both to improve conditions on the ground and to build confidence between the parties,” the department wrote.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/493357