*EPF103 05/06/2002
Bush Meets at the White House May 7 with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon
(Meeting is one of many Bush having with leaders from the region) (1000)

By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent

Washington -- President Bush is set to meet the afternoon of May 7 at the White House with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss the Middle East. It will be the fifth meeting between the two leaders.

Speaking with reporters May 6, Bush said he has not "had a chance to talk with Prime Minister Sharon in recent days," and looks "forward to hearing what he has to say." But he would not tell reporters what he intends to say to Sharon, indicating that it will be a private discussion.

The President made clear, however, that the meeting is only one of many he is having with leaders in the region in an effort to help find a way to end the Palestinian-Israeli violence.

"This is a series of discussions we're having, not only with Prime Minister Sharon. As you know, King Abdullah is coming, as well. It follows up on meetings I've had with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, as well as the King of Morocco," the President said. "I will continue to have further meetings as we begin to bring -- coalesce the world around a vision for peace."

Part of the goal of the United States, said Bush, "is to lay out a vision for peace, which I have done, and then encourage people to assume their responsibility necessary to achieve the peace."

"And that's why it's so important, for example, that the Arab world be very much involved in a peace process, in discussions toward peace. And we are -- I think we're making some progress, and I appreciate that."

Bush said Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat "must lead. He must show the world that he believes in peace. And we have laid out conditions for all parties in order to achieve peace -- all parties -- Arab nations, Israel, Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian party must assume their responsibilities and lead."

Bush said he understood Sharon's reluctance to meet with Arafat.

"After all, right before we had a security agreement done, a shipload of ammunition showed up that can probably be aimed at the Israeli citizens. So there is a high level of disappointment," Bush said of the attempt foiled by Israel to smuggle Iranian arms to the Palestinians.

Bush spoke to reporters May 6 as he toured a school in Michigan.

The President's focus at the meeting with Sharon "is going to be on peace," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters on Air Force One as they flew to Michigan with the President earlier in the day.

"It's going to be a serious meeting and I think the President is going to thank the Prime Minister for helping resolve the situation in Ramallah," the Press Secretary said. "It was a good agreement reached that led to the progress. Saudi Arabia played a vital role on that; the Palestinian Authority held their end of the bargain.

"And he (Bush) wants to continue to press the case about the importance of moving forward toward political settlement of the disputes. Security is vital, security is ongoing, security is an integral part of everything. Political solutions have to be a vital part of the mix.

"The issue is how to continue the productive work that is already taking place, working with the Palestinian Authority," said Fleischer. "It was efforts with the Palestinian Authority, as well as Arab nations and Israel, that led to successful resolution of the situation in Ramallah, that's making progress in Bethlehem. So the ingredients are there for progress to be made. It just requires time, it requires diligence, and it requires patience."

Fleischer noted that on May 8 King Abdullah of Jordan will meet with Bush. "That will be the President's 13th meeting with an Arab head of state," the Press Secretary said.

Fleischer said that, in addition, Bush has had 17 phone conversations with Sharon and 53 phone conversations with Arab leaders about the Middle East situation.

"So this is the ongoing diplomacy -- these are the ongoing diplomatic efforts by the President, personally, in a very volatile area.

"It's a process. And fortunately, for now a little over a week, the process has been marked by more positive steps than backward steps....it's the overall focus on how to move forward, how to begin the political part of the dialogue, and to make it meaningful and real."

In addition, Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice "are very busy, as well, talking to their counterparts," Fleischer noted.

The Press Secretary said he did not agree with an article in the May 6 Washington Times that reported Powell and Rice as having sent mixed signals regarding the administration's Middle East policy in interviews on the Sunday TV talk shows.

Fleischer said Powell and Rice "said the same thing" -- that is what President Bush made clear in his April 4 Rose Garden speech, "that the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Chairman Arafat, has responsibilities. And that's exactly what Dr. Rice and Secretary Powell said yesterday.

"Among those responsibilities are to denounce violence, to stop terrorism, to root out corruption -- which the President is very worried about as one of the real problems that is getting in the way of the Palestinian people having the leadership that is worthy of the cause of creation of a state that's stable and secure. That's what they both said yesterday."

"The issue is how to continue the productive work that is already taking place, working with the Palestinian Authority. It was efforts with the Palestinian Authority, as well as Arab nations and Israel, that led to successful resolution to the situation in Ramallah, that's making progress in Bethlehem. So the ingredients are there for progress to be made. It just requires time, it requires diligence, and it requires patience."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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