U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told journalists travelling with her en route to Ankara, Turkey last night, according to a State Department transcript, that UNSG BAN Ki-Moon is “ready” to establish a permanent office to service the “neighbors’ meetings” on Iraq: “This is the second neighbors ministerial and I think we expect it to become a recurring event because the parties are finding it useful. And with Ban Ki-moon ready to establish an office, permanent office to help provide continuity between the meetings, I think that this ministerial is now taking on the character of a forum in which people can repeatedly bring issues“.