U.S. President George W. Bush reiterated U.S. commitment to Middle East peace on Tuesday as he opened a peace conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Middle East conference in Annapolis, Maryland is meant to be the start of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, rather than the end of talks between the nations, Bush said. Bush emphasized that now is the time to launch peace talks and achieve the “peace that both sides desire.” Bush said negotiations could succeed because “Palestinians and Israelis have leaders who are determined to achieve peace… Abbas understands that a Palestinian state will not be born of terror… Prime Minister Olmert has made clear [that] he understands the suffering and indignities felt by the Palestinian people,” Bush said. --More
