Bush: Palestinian state by 2005 'may be hard'
(CNN) -- President Bush said in an interview published in Egypt on Saturday that establishing a Palestinian state by 2005 "isn't as realistic as it was two years ago" when he and regional leaders pledged to make it happen.
But the president told the Egyptian newspaper Al Alhram he would not make excuses and wanted "to push hard as fast as possible to get a state in place."
"2005 may be hard, since 2005 is right around the corner," he said. "I readily concede the date has slipped some, primarily because violence sprung up."
In Ramallah, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat told reporters that creating a Palestinian state by next year "is more than realistic because according to the signed agreements ... our state should have been declared by 1998 or 1999."
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said the parties "have enough time for serious negotiations."
"There is no time left for postponement," Qorei said. "Losing time does not serve the peace process nor the stability of this region."
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government on Bush's statements or the Palestinian reaction.
Source: Rice to meet Palestinian P.M.
An administration official told CNN Friday that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice plans to meet with Qorei this month in Germany as part of a new Bush administration effort to repair relations and restart Mideast peace talks.
Rice will confer with the Palestinian official May 17 in Berlin, according an administration official. She is the highest-level U.S. official to meet with Qorei since he took office in October.
Rice plans to tell Qorei that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "proposals are an historical opportunity to move toward peace" and that the Palestinians "need to live up to their obligations under the 'road map,' " said National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack, referring to the U.S.-backed peace plan.
The road map -- supported by the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia -- calls for steps by both sides aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establishing an independent Palestinian state by 2005.
McCormack said the Rice-Qorei meeting had been planned for some time, but the announcement comes a day after President Bush sought to clarify a month-old shift in his Mideast policy, backing a unilateral Israeli plan that angered many in the Arab world.
Sharon's plan called for the removal of all Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza and the dismantling of four settlements and outposts in the northern West Bank by 2005. The Israeli leader's Likud party rejected this move in a nonbinding referendum Sunday.
In an April meeting in Washington, the president backed Sharon's proposal and also sided with him in rejecting a key Palestinian demand -- what Palestinians call the "right of return" to lands taken from them or abandoned in 1948 -- saying Palestinians must settle in a Palestinian state, not Israel. Bush also signaled support for Israel to keep some West Bank settlements.
"The United States will not prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations and matters for the parties," Bush said after the April 14 meeting with Sharon. "But the realities on the ground and in the region have changed greatly over the last several decades, and any final settlement must take into account those realities and be agreeable to the parties."
Bush to outline position in letter to Qorei
On Thursday, standing next to Jordan's King Abdullah in the White House Rose Garden, Bush promised that all final status issues will be negotiated with both sides, not imposed on Palestinians.
The president did not address the right of return issue specifically at Thursday's appearance before reporters.
However, Abdullah said, "Jordan also believes all final status issues, including borders, refugees, Jerusalem and settlements, should be a matter for the parties to decide. I am encouraged by what I've heard from you today, sir, that these issues are not to be prejudiced and should be mutually agreed by the parties."
Bush also agreed to a request from Abdullah that he send Qorei a letter clarifying the U.S. position supporting a two-state solution and negotiation of all final status issues by all parties involved.
Despite the meeting between Rice and Qorei, an administration official insists the U.S. refusal to hold direct contact with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat "remains our position."
Top Bush administration officials have refused to meet with Arafat, who they have said has failed to crack down on terrorism.
Dana Bash and John King contributed to this report.
