U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sunday that Washington was doing its utmost to push forward Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Cheney, who began a visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Saturday, started a day of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He met Israeli President Shimon Peres, who told him "time is of the essence" in U.S.-brokered negotiations with the the Palestinians that Washington hopes can lead to a peace deal by the time George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009, according to a report of Reuters. Bush made his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank two months ago. He is expected to make another trip soon. "We're obviously dedicated to doing all we can as an administration to try to move the peace process forward and also obviously actively involved in dealing with the threats that we see emerging in the region...." Cheney said. Cheney was to visit the occupied West Bank later in the day and meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as well as Prime Minister Salam Fayyad before leaving for Turkey, his last stop on a nine-day visit to the Middle East.
