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US ‘committed’ to Middle East roadmap: Bush

WASHINGTON: US President George W Bush said Monday the United States was “fully committed” to the roadmap to Middle East peace, drawn up by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

“The United States is fully committed to the roadmap, we’re fully committed to helping going forward, and we’re fully committed to practical things on the ground,” Bush told the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television.

Asked about his statement during Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas’ visit here last week that he was uncertain a Palestinian state would see the light of day before he ended his second term in office in 2009, Bush showed more optimism.

“Look, I said I would like this to happen before I end being president. And I would. And we are going to push,” the US president said, according to a White House transcript of the interview.

“Condi and I talk about this all the time... about how we’d very much like to see a Palestinian democracy achieve its status as a state,” he added referring to his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“I think it would be a great historic achievement for everybody involved. And so I did put out a firm date, and I’m going to work hard for that date,” he added.

“On the other hand, you don’t want an American president making decisions for other people based upon his own political calendar, or his own time in office, is what I really meant to say. I don’t think it’s fair,” Bush said.

“And this is going to be a process, as you know, that will be two steps forward and one step back, and two steps forward,” he said. afp

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