U.S. President George W. Bush has invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House in early May for talks on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a White House spokesman said Thursday. Briefing reporters aboard Air Force One, spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Abbas had been invited to come to the United States on May 1. Johndroe said the meeting would be a continuation of discussions that began at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland last year. “Details are still being worked out. It's part of the continuing efforts of President Bush and this administration to work with both the Palestinians and the Israelis, as well as other countries in the region, in realizing a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel,” he said. Johndroe noted that the meeting will come after visits to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney.
