"If a meeting advances progress toward two states living side-by-side in peace, I will strongly consider such a meeting," Bush said

CRAWFORD, Texas, May 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday, May 23, fueled speculation he may convey his first Middle East summit next month, saying he would meet with Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers if it will promote peace.

Administration officials have told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Bush may tack on a get-together with Ariel Sharon and Mahmud Abbas after the June 1-3 G8 summit in France, with Egypt the most likely venue.

"If a meeting advances progress toward two states living side-by-side in peace, I will strongly consider such a meeting," Bush said as he met at his ranch with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

He hailed Sharon's embrace of the "roadmap" to ending violence, which calls for the creation by 2005 of a Palestinian state living at peace with Israel.

Sharon's cabinet may vote on the blueprint on Sunday, May 25.

"That's progress," Bush said, adding: "I understand it's going to be difficult to achieve peace, but I believe it can happen."

The U.S. president tied Sharon's move to a formal new U.S. pledge to be mindful of its key Middle East ally's security concerns, laid out earlier in a statement by Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

"And since we're committed to Israel's security, as we move forward, we will address any concerns that might arise regarding Israel's security," he said.

"I'm committed to working toward peace in the Middle East."

Bush, who spoke to Sharon and Abbas last week, met with the Palestinian finance minister on Wednesday, and also with Sharon's chief of staff, Dov Weissglass, U.S. officials said.

He also spoke to leaders of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, though the White House declined comment on those contacts, which could lay the groundwork for a possible Bush-Sharon-Abbas summit.

Administration officials said planning was underway to hold such a meeting at the Sharm el-Sheikh resort in Egypt but emphasized that such plans were far from final, citing the security situation among other factors.

One official said a decision on whether Bush, who leaves May 30 for a swing through Europe, would stop in the Middle East, may come as early as Sunday, when White House staff are supposed to return from the region.

Powell and Rice confirmed the "United States government received a response from the government of Israel, explaining its significant concerns about the roadmap.

"The United States shares the view of the government of Israel that these are real concerns, and will address them fully and seriously in the implementation of the roadmap," they added.

Senior administration officials said that Israel's concerns would be addressed within the context of implementing the roadmap, not by changing the internationally drawn blueprint itself.

"We're in this wonderful position of now being able to get on with it, and start implementing" a series of concrete steps laid out by the document, one official told reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity.

"As you implement steps questions are going to arise, there is a host of details that will have to be worked out, and in the context of working out those details, obviously, we will take into the concerns and reservations of the parties," the official said.

Abbas has accepted the roadmap, which was released when he took office on April 30, and his government is more concerned with whether Israel will ever accept a politically and economically viable Palestinian state, he added.

"Are there a lot of ways this could go off the rails? of course," the official said, forecasting "a period of active engagement" by the United States to keep the process on track.