Rice, who flew into Moscow late Wednesday, spoke to Livni as Israel rolled out an air and ground offensive provoked by the conscript's capture by Palestinian militants.
WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Wednesday, as Washington said it was using "moral authority" to help defuse a showdown in Gaza over a kidnapped Israeli soldier.
Rice, who flew into Moscow late Wednesday, spoke to Livni as Israel rolled out an air and ground offensive provoked by the conscript's capture by Palestinian militants, deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.
The United States was working hard behind the scenes to bring about the "release of the captured soldier immediately and put an end to this crisis which has been provoked by terrorist hostage-taking," Ereli said.
He declined to say whether the United States was aware in advance of Israel's military strategy in Gaza, or had advised the Israeli government not to take certain actions.
"We want to resolve that hostage-taking. That's what we all want to do. And we want to protect innocent life in doing that," he said.
"I think the United States obviously has influence and ... moral authority on this. And we are using that to try to do what we can to help bring this to a peaceful resolution."
As well as Rice, US diplomats at the US embassy in Tel Aviv, and Washington-based officials deputy national security adviser Elliot Abrams and assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch, were all working the issue, Ereli said.
He also hinted at some of the scope of US contacts, noting that Abbas and Egypt had useful contacts that might help solve the crisis.
Rice's telephone call followed up on a conversation with Livni at the weekend, Ereli said, recalling that the top US diplomat had also spoken with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas around the same time.
Israel earlier vowed to use "extreme measures" to rescue the teenage soldier captured by Palestinian militants. The White House earlier offered support for the Israeli action and called on Hamas to free the soldier, Gilad Shalit, but cautioned Israel to ensure the safety of innocent Palestinian civilians.
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