*EPF302 05/28/2003
Bush Looks Forward to Planned Meeting with Sharon, Abbas
(White House Report, May 28, 2003: Middle East, Iran, Russia) (650)

After announcing that President Bush would travel to Aqaba, Jordan, on June 4 for a meeting, "conditions permitting," with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, the White House called the prospect of the meetings "a positive development."

The message Bush would take to the planned meeting is the importance of Israelis and Palestinians working together to make progress on the "road map" -- a plan to allow Israel and a new Palestinian state to live side by side in peace and security -- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters May 28.

"The president's focus is on results," Fleischer said. "The president's focus is on the bottom line and working with people who can achieve results. And that's why the president looks forward to this meeting."

He said the planned meeting comes at "a hopeful moment," but added that the problem in the Middle East is that "hopeful moments can get derailed." Fleischer said Bush is a president "who is determined to find these hopeful moments and make the most out of them."

"In the Middle East, where progress is often difficult, it's important to make the progress that can be made today, and not attempt to make too much of an attempt for progress, when that may be beyond reach immediately," Fleischer told reporters. "But it is important at the end of the day for the Arab world to recognize Israel and to welcome Israel and to allow Israel to live in security. And Israel needs to have good relations with its Arab neighbors."

Fleischer referred to Abbas as the "representative of the Palestinian people at this meeting." Asked about the role of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Fleischer said "The President's views on Yasser Arafat are well-known and clear. I don't see any need to reiterate them. The President looks forward to the meeting with somebody who he believes is dedicated to peace."

Fleischer said Bush will stress the U.S. commitment to Israel's security. "Clearly, in an atmosphere of violence and killing, it is much harder to reach peace agreements when people are dying on a regular basis as a result of homicide bombers," he said.

BUSH TO CONFRONT RUSSIA ON AIDING IRAN

When President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in St. Petersburg, Russia, May 30 prior to the G-8 summit in France, the two leaders are expected to discuss Russian assistance to Iran's nuclear program.

"This has been a matter that we have talked with the Russians about," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said May 28. "They are looking at this, and have made some new statements about this which are welcome. And I anticipate that some of that may be talked about."

Russian assistance to Iran's nuclear fuel cycle program "has been a matter of some dispute between the United States and Russia," Fleischer had previously said May 27.

"We have repeatedly raised with Russian officials at the highest levels, including President Bush with President Putin, our desire to see Russia end all nuclear cooperation with Iran," he said.

He said Russia joins the United States in supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency's ongoing inspections of Iran's nuclear program and looks forward to the full report from the IAEA director-general in June.

In his May 28 briefing Fleischer cited a May 27 statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry which said that Russia, "expressed concern over the existence of serious unclarified issues in connection with nuclear research in Iran, and pointed to the need for an exhaustive discussion of that problem by the IAEA board of governors in June, and early signing of additional protocol to the agreement on IAEA safeguards."

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

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