Washington, DC — United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is sending her top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, to Kenya to talk to both opposition leader Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki in an effort to make progress toward resolving Kenya's political crisis.

The State Department announced that she was planning to leave Washington on Thursday, and the trip is expected to be short.

"What you can do at this point is really meet with each side, see where they are, [and] take an assessment of where they stand," said Sean McCormack, the State Department's spokesperson.

In the last 24 hours, Rice has spoken to both Odinga and Kibaki over the phone, urging them to help end the violence. McCormack said that Rice thought it was important for Frazer to deliver the United States' call for dialogue directly to the political leaders.

The announcement of Frazer's visit came on a day in which African Union Chair John Kufuor's visit was postponed, reportedly because the government does see the need for international mediation. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is already in Kenya, and he has met with Odinga, but it is unclear whether he has met with Kibaki yet.

McCormack, however, expects both Odinga and Kibaki to meet with Frazer when she arrives in Kenya.