US President Bush said Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan must cut off financial aid to "terrorist" groups and help insure the security of Israel to foster the creation of a Palestinian state in a Middle East peace agreement.
Bush added he has come to realize that "it was impossible to achieve peace with Chairman Arafat. He's failed the Palestinian people in the past."
Bush will hold next week to summits in the Middle East. He said he wanted to meet with Mideast leaders because "I am intent upon working toward a two-state solution in the Middle East -- two states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace. In other words, I want them to look me in the eye so they can see that I am determined to work to make this happen."
He made these comments in a series of interviews conducted Thursday and released Friday as he flew to Poland.
Bush said he would tell Mideast leaders that the United States needs help to achieve peace. "And we need countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Jordan and others to work together to cut off funding for terrorist groups, to prevent the killers from moving around, to help provide security."
"I am going to hold people accountable for their commitments," Bush said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
