WASHINGTON - Palestinian Authority chief Mahmud Abbas began talks here Wednesday with the US administration on peace negotiations with Israel that remain stalled five months after Washington-led attempts to jumpstart the peace process.
Abbas, who is to meet President George W. Bush Thursday after talking with US lawmakers, told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday it was crunch time for Middle East peace talks and was hoping for intervention from Washington to achieve a breakthrough.
"The president emphasized in the meeting (with Rice) that five months after Annapolis, the gap between the Palestinian and Israeli sides remains wide, and he said it is time for decisions to be made," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told reporters. "Time is of the essence."
Abbas also told Rice that "the continuation of Israeli settlements (in the West Bank) are still the main obstacle" of the peace process, Erakat said.
The negotiator added that Rice told Abbas she was preparing a new trip to the Palestinian territories and Israel on May 3 and 4.
During a tour which took him to Russia, Tunisia and Iceland prior to Washington, Abbas told reporters he would inform Bush "about the course of negotiations with Israel and let it be known in all frankness our position on the main negotiated dossiers."
Early Wednesday, Abbas met with King Abdullah of Jordan in Washington -- one of a flurry of meetings aimed to set the stage for a visit by Bush in May to the Middle East.
"A big gap separates our positions from those of Israel," Abbas told reporters, adding that he was not expecting an easy path toward an accord.
"Negotiated questions are not easy. They are difficult, complex, but we should try to find a solution," he said.
Abbas's visit here comes five months after the United States, Israel and key Arab players launched the latest Palestinian-Israeli peace process in Annapolis, Maryland in late November 2007, hoping to create a bulwark against rising Islamist extremism.
Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said Abbas has an eye on the clock, and that the Palestinian Authority was looking "toward reaching an accord before the end of the year."
Nevertheless, "the gap between our position and that of Israel is enormous, and Washington will have to play a role to bridge the gap," he said.
Bush aims to conclude a comprehensive agreement by the end of 2008 -- just before he leaves the US presidency.
Abbas discussed plans for a Middle East peace conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a trip to Moscow on Friday.
Russia is a member of the Middle East diplomatic quartet along with the European Union, the United Nations and the United States.
A ministerial meeting of the four is to take place May 1-2 in London, Russia has announced.
Abbas has also confirmed he would again meet Bush at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 17.
"We would also gladly welcome Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the summit," he added, "but we do not know whether this will be the case."
He said as he launched the Annapolis process last year that the peace negotiations would offer the Palestinians "an alternative vision for the future, a vision of peace, a homeland of their own, and a better life."
Meanwhile in the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes carried out two air strikes Wednesday evening, killing one Palestinian and wounding three, according to Palestinian doctors and witnesses.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the raids, saying they had targeted armed militants.
Also on Wednesday, the Libyan UN ambassador compared the situation in Gaza to Nazi "concentration camps," prompting a walkout by Western diplomats from a UN Security Council meeting.
The incident occurred as the 15-member council was trying to agree on a compromise statement that would have highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza while also contributing towards efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.
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