Bush happy to meet Abbas in Washington

United States President George W. Bush has invited new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to the White House and urged Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises necessary for peace.

Bush said he planned to speak by phone with Abbas yesterday and looked forward to meeting him "here in Washington if he chooses to come here". Washington was abuzz with speculation that this could be extended into a three-way summit, with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Bush's words are an indication of how the climate has changed since the death of Yasser Arafat, whom Bush had branded as the prime obstacle to peace in the Middle East and whom he refused to meet in person.

Israel, he said, had to "keep a vision of two states living side by side in peace" and as the Palestinians began to develop state institutions, "the Israeli Government must support the development of those institutions". Jerusalem, he declared, "can play and must play an important part in the development of a Palestinian state".

However, it was not clear last night precisely what action the US would take to implement the road map plan for peace. This would require Washington to press Israel to withdraw from the West Bank as well - something the Bush Administration has never done.

- INDEPENDENT