Friday, September 23, 2005

By Nedra Pickler, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Bush yesterday asked Jordan's King Abdullah II to bring his "voice of reason" to the Middle East peace process by paying visits to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

After meeting with Abdullah in the Oval Office, Bush said the king "graciously agreed" to his request. No date for meetings have been set, U.S. and Jordanian officials said.

"I want to thank you, sir, for taking a leadership role," Bush told Abdullah when reporters were invited in at the end of their meeting. "It will be very helpful to have your voice of reason there to talk to both leaders."

Jordan has urged the United States and its diplomatic partners to help resume talks aimed at achieving Palestinian statehood now that Israel has pulled out of the Gaza Strip after a 38-year occupation. Abdullah has said he hoped that the international community would devise a plan to rescue the Palestinian economy from the devastation of decades of mismanagement and conflict with Israel.

Sitting next to Bush in the Oval Office, Abdullah thanked Bush for his support for trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I know that you want to find a solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and harmony," the king said. "I hope, if we can help in that respect, that is a great honour for us."

Abdullah met with Sharon last week at the United Nations, their first talks in months and a further sign of warming relations between the Jewish state and the Arab world after Israel's Gaza withdrawal.

Earlier this week, Israel's foreign minister called on Arab states to open formal relations with his country, but the Arabs showed continued signs of division over whether and how far to go beyond symbolic gestures to reward Israel for its withdrawal.

Bush's call for Abdullah's visits appeared to be an attempt to energize what has so far been a lukewarm Arab response to Israel's pullout from Gaza.

Israel has said it is up to the Arabs now to make a gesture. But most Arab governments have insisted that Israel doesn't deserve any reward for returning land it has held since a 1967 war and for removing settlements that the Arabs contend were illegal to start with.

Saudi Crown Prince Sultan said Israel should withdraw from more Arab land after Gaza, sticking to the pan-Arab position that full recognition and peace will come when Israel fulfils Arab conditions.