"We are working on a Security Council resolution and hopefully we can get that passed and I think it certainly will be within days," Rice said on CNN's "Larry King Live."

Under intense international pressure to stop the Mideast crisis, the United States and France had stepped up negotiations on a UN resolution that calls for an immediate cessation of the conflict and sets conditions for a lasting peace.

Ever since the outbreak of the Israel-Hezbollah fighting on July 12, Washington has insisted that a ceasefire and steps aimed at creating a long-term peace be worked out simultaneously. These included establishing an international peacekeeping force and requiring the disarmament of Hezbollah guerrillas.

In Thursday's interview, Rice said Washington would be wiling to consider a phased approach, by permitting "an end or a stoppage in the hostilities first and committing the warring sides to a set of principles for a lasting peace."

"We're certainly getting close," she said. "We're working with the French very closely. We're working with others."

The measure that Paris and Washington were working on would be the first of two resolutions aimed at achieving a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the Israel-Lebanon conflict.