Bush to Promote Peace, Regional Dialogue During Visit to Mideast

By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.

President Bush will mix symbolism and substance during a five-day, three-nation trip to the Middle East that will place considerable emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and an array of issues from Lebanon to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The president travels to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt May 13-18.

Bush is marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel and also is commemorating the 75th anniversary of U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia. He will travel to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for one-on-one meetings with seven Muslim leaders and will deliver addresses to the Israeli parliament - the Knesset - and at the World Economic Forum in the Middle East.

"The president will reaffirm his personal commitment to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and encourage continuing efforts for a two-state solution, a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine living side by side in peace and security," says National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.

Bush says he is hopeful that an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority can be reached by the end of his presidency in January 2009. But the president will not be meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders simultaneously, Hadley said, explaining that it did not seem the time "for a big, high-level, three-way event. It just doesn't feel right as the best way to advance the negotiations."

"At this point, we think the bilateral negotiations are key," he said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after her recent trip to the region that the Israelis and Palestinians have the same clear goal. "They are trying to get to an agreement by the end of the year that is going to resolve the core issues," she said.

Hadley said the trip, Bush's second to the region this year and possibly his last before leaving office, also will demonstrate his steadfast opposition to extremists and their state sponsors, Iran and Syria.

Bush launched an intensive diplomatic effort in late 2007 with the Annapolis Conference on the Middle East to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He followed that up with a trip to the region in January and then sent Rice on a five-day trip to Britain, Israel and the West Bank in early May.

Bush told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a visit to Washington in April that "The thing that I'm focused on, and you are, is how to define a state that is acceptable to both sides. I'm confident it can get done." Abbas told Bush that time is of the essence in resolving primary issues.

Core issues to be resolved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks include the final borders of a Palestinian state, the future of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian refugees, water rights and future relations between the two states.

At a pre-trip briefing, Hadley told journalists that Palestinians living in Gaza will have a choice: to join with other Palestinians and statehood, or to continue to live under the oppression of Hamas, a group that the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization and that has seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Hadley said that Hamas also has a choice to make: to continue the status quo, or to join the peace process and move forward. To accomplish the latter, Hamas must do the following:

. Renounce terrorism;

. Recognize the right of Israel to exist; and

. Accept the international agreements that already have been agreed to between Israelis and Palestinians as the foundation for peace.

In Israel, Bush will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres, followed by separate meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Bush also will deliver brief remarks at an international conference to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary and deliver longer remarks before the Knesset. He also will meet with Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair to discuss international assistance for efforts to build Palestinian institutions.

In Saudi Arabia, Bush will meet with Saudi King Abdullah at his private farm, and mark the 75th anniversary of formal U.S.-Saudi relations, Hadley said.

During his two days at Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush will meet with host Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Palestinian President Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih.

In his meetings with Karzai, Bush will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to a stable and democratic Afghanistan, Hadley said, and discuss the upcoming Afghan Support Conference in Paris June 12-13.

While in Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush will address the World Economic Forum in the Middle East at the National Congress Center before returning to Washington.

Source: U.S. Department of State

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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