Bush invites Palestinian leader to U.S. for talks
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House in early May for talks aimed at advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said on Thursday.
Abbas has been invited around May 1 though the details of the visit are still being worked out, Johndroe told reporters on Air Force One as the president was en route to Ohio to deliver a speech on the Iraq war. Aides to Abbas said on Wednesday the Palestinian leader had been invited on April 24.
The White House meeting with Abbas is part of a continuing effort "to work with the Palestinians and the Israelis as well as other countries in the region in realizing a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel," Johndroe said.
Bush launched Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis, Maryland, in November aimed at addressing sensitive final status issues such as Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements and borders.
Bush made his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank in January and is expected to make another trip in May. The Abbas visit to Washington is expected to precede Bush's trip to the Middle East.
The announcement comes amid a series of Middle East visits by U.S. officials. Rice leaves for the region on Friday and Vice President Dick Cheney visited the area last week. Johndroe said Bush's invitation to Abbas was not spurred by Cheney's visit.
"This is not the result of one specific meeting but just part of the continuing process that the president has committed to," Johndroe said.
Abbas told reporters in Ramallah on Wednesday that talks between chief Palestinian negotiator Amed Qurie and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had tackled "all the core issues without exception: Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, borders, and security."
"We hope to achieve a settlement in 2008, there are many obstacles but we hope they will be removed. We are all pressing to reach a settlement by the target date," Abbas said.
(Editing by Patricia Wilson)
