U.S. President George Bush on Sunday left the Egyptian Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheikh and headed back to Washington, ending his two-day visit to Egypt and five-day tour to the region with remarks to convince Arab sceptics on peace push.
During his stay in Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, as well as Iraqi officials among others to tackle regional and bilateral issues.
He also delivered a special address on Sunday at the inaugural session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East in Sharm el-Sheikh, expressing his confidence on reaching a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians by the end of this year and reiterating the U.S. resolve to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
"A peace agreement is in the Palestinians' interest, it is in Israel's interest, it is in Arab states' interest, and it is in the world's interest," Bush said in his address to the WEF meeting.
The U.S. president said he firmly believed that with leadership and courage, "we can reach that peace agreement this year."
"This is a demanding task, and it requires action on all sides," Bush said, adding that Palestinians must fight terror and continue to build the institutions of a free and peaceful society, while Israel must make tough sacrifices for peace and ease restrictions on Palestinians.
The renewed resolve to Mideast peace came eight months before the end of Bush's eight-year tenure, the target date set by Washington for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to ink a peace agreement that will bring an end to the decades-old conflict.
Bush faces criticism for not mentioning the Palestinian plight during his three-day visit to Israel, while expressing strong support to Israel in his speech at Israel's parliament Thursday onthe occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Jewish country. Growing scepticism in the Arab world arose over Bush's ability to act as an even-handed broker between Israel and the Palestinians.
