Bush launches last ditch push for Mideast peace

Washington: President George W. Bush meets Palestinian and Israeli leaders on Monday in a last-ditch push for Palestinian statehood.

Delegates from dozens of countries began arriving in Washington for the talks billed by the Bush administration as the first major push for Palestinian-Israeli peace in seven years.

Syria and Saudi Arabia promised to attend the Annapolis meeting on Tuesday, although Damascus will be sending a deputy minister.

"This conference will signal international support for the Israelis' and Palestinians' intention to commence negotiations on the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realization of peace between these two peoples," Bush said in welcoming the two Arab leaders who arrived over the weekend.

Bush will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas separately and together during the meetings.

They will be joined at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis by representatives of more than 40 countries.

White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said he expected both sides to recommit to a 2003 road map to Middle East peace.

The Annapolis peace bid follows years of failed US-led efforts to end decades of conflict and forge a Palestinian state.