had stalled or might fail , but `` it 's quite the opposite -- the Annapolis process has laid the foundation for the eventual establishment for the state of Palestine . '' The purpose of her current trip , Rice said , was `` to advance the Annapolis process , '' and while she did not speculate on a timetable for the future of the process or offer specifics on peace talks , she added , `` I 've seen them move forward a great deal in the past year . '' Both Israeli and Palestinian officials have expressed doubts about achieving a peace agreement before President Bush leaves office , but until this week U.S. officials had been more optimistic in their public comments . Speaking in Israel on Thursday , Rice blamed part of the inability to secure a deal on recent political changes in Israel , which she noted is `` in the midst of elections . '' With Abbas on Friday , she emphasized that the commitment expressed by Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert when they signed an agreement to work toward a peace deal by the end of 2008 is still strong .
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Despite acknowledgment from the White House a day earlier that a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians is unlikely before a new U.S. president takes office , Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she is confident that ongoing efforts would produce success . Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni , right , and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speak Thursday . `` Carried to its state of conclusion , it will produce a state of Palestine , '' Rice , referring to negotiations in the wake of last year 's U.S. summit on Israel-Palestinian peace in Annapolis , Maryland , said at a joint news conference with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah , West Bank . Rice is on her eighth trip to the region since the Annapolis summit . On Thursday , White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the Bush administration does not `` think that it 's likely that it -LRB- a peace agreement -RRB- would happen before the end of the year . '' Rice said Friday that she realizes the lack of a peace agreement in the months following the Annapolis summit had caused some concerns that talks