*EPF202 05/13/2003
White House Report: Bush Pleased Efforts On Middle East Peace Have Begun
(Middle East, Iraq) (590)

Asked for President Bush's assessment of Secretary of State Colin Powell's discussions in the Middle East over the weekend with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush "is pleased that the efforts on the road map are now beginning."

"He wants both parties to focus on what they should do," Fleischer said May 12 while briefing reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Omaha, Nebraska. "He wants the Israelis to focus on what steps they need to take, and he wants the Palestinians to focus on what steps the Palestinians need to take. That's the way to have success."

"What's important here now is the process is beginning in earnest," Fleischer said. "It is an historically different process, a process that's marred by ups and downs, by progress and failures. Now the process is beginning in earnest, and that's good."

He said Bush has been having briefings on the progress of Powell's trip, which began May 9.

Powell made stops in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan May 10-11 and proceeded to Egypt May 12 before arriving in Saudi Arabia May 13. In the next three days he will visit Russia, Bulgaria, and Germany. His agenda in meetings with leaders in those countries includes bilateral and trans-Atlantic relations, as well as consultations with them in their capacity as U.N. Security Council members on the liberation and reconstruction of Iraq. Fleischer said the president looks forward to a full report from Powell when he returns May 16.

Bush has invited Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to visit him in Washington on May 20. The two leaders plan to discuss the efforts to move ahead toward a peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as a range of bilateral and regional issues, Fleischer said in a May 9 statement.

Asked when Bush would meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, Fleischer replied, "We'll keep you posted."

Secretary Powell said in a May 12 interview with Israel Television Channel Two that when President Bush meets with Prime Minister Sharon next week, he plans to speak with Sharon in "very open, straightforward, honest, candid terms about settlement activity and settlements in general." The secretary said President Bush is firmly committed to the vision he enunciated on June 24, 2002 of two-states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace.

CHANGES IN U.S. RECONSTRUCTION TEAM IN IRAQ

Asked May 12 to comment on the changes in the U.S. reconstruction team in Iraq, with the arrival in Iraq of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer as the top U.S. civilian administrator there, taking over from retired General Jay Garner, who came to Iraq April 21, Fleischer responded:

"(N)umber one, General Garner is there for another few weeks. Two, it was always anticipated, as was said when Ambassador Bremer was named, that a senior official was going to go in with an overarching view of all areas. For the next couple of weeks General Garner will continue his efforts on the day-to-day reconstruction," Fleischer said.

"(F)rom the president's point of view, he thinks that we have a good team on the ground. He never ruled out changes to the team. And his focus is on the actual reconstruction efforts and the efforts to improve security for people not only in Baghdad, but throughout the country."

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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