Bush arrives in Egypt for talks
President George Bush, in his first personal foray into Mideast peace talks, arrived in Egypt tonight pledging to “put in as much time as necessary” to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
On the eve of two days of talks with leaders in the region, he said he knew it would not be an easy task to end years of hostility in the region.
But he added: ”I think we’ll make some progress. I know we’re making progress.”
After staying aloof from the Middle East for 18 months as violence between the two sides escalated,
Bush became the first American president specifically to endorse a Palestinian state. But he said it could come only with a more democratic Palestinian system and without Yasser Arafat, the long-time symbol of the Palestinian movement.
Bush cut short his attendance at the G-8 summit in France to fly to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik. There he planned to press Arab leaders to do more to show open support for new Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, US officials said.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s invitation to Abbas, instead of to Arafat, to attend the summit was already an indication of support for the new Palestinian prime minister.
The other participants in the talks are heads of state, a role usually filled by Arafat at such meetings.
On Wednesday, Bush plans to participate in a three-way summit in Aqaba, Jordan, with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Bush is seeking commitments from Middle East leaders on how to carry out a peace plan that would lead to creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. He said steps forward would only come if “people assume their responsibilities.”
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said US officials working on the text of final statements planned for after the Aqaba meetings were “encouraged by what they have been able to achieve so far.”
“We expect that positive statements will be forthcoming,” Powell said. “But you know, statement writing always goes down to the last minute as people try to present one position or another.”
Recent statements by Sharon acknowledging that Israeli forces’ “occupation” of Palestinian territories showed that “whichever interpretation you put on that ... it’s a situation that is unsustainable over time,” Powell said.
Abbas, who held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah today, said the Palestinian leadership “is committed to implementing its part of the road map and calls on Israel to do the same.”
Sharon told his Cabinet he would likely make a declaration committing Israel to dismantling the settlements in Palestinian-controlled areas that have been set up in violation of Israeli law.
Stopping new settlement construction is a key element of the peace plan.
On the Palestinian side, Abbas’ government continued to work toward a declaration of a ceasefire on attacks against Israelis by militant groups like Hamas.
