US President George W. Bush on Thursday urged Israel to finish its troop withdrawal from the Palestinian territories and seek a "non-violent" solution to armed standoffs in Ramallah and Bethlehem.
"Israel must finish its withdrawal," Bush said after a long meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz at his Texas ranch.
"I made it clear to him I expected Israel to withdraw. ... I expect them to be finished,'' Bush said.
The talks began in the morning and lasted about five hours, two hours longer than original plans, according to the White House.
Bush said that he and Crown Prince Abdullah had forged a "strong personal bond" through the talks, which was dominated by the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
"One of the really positive things out of this meeting is the fact the crown prince and I established a strong personal bond," Bush said.
The two sides discussed next steps in implementing a Saudi peace plan which was endorsed by the Arab League, Bush said, describing the plan as "a breakthrough" in solving the Middle Eastcrisis.
The crown prince left the ranch in Crowford without speaking to reporters.
Saudi Arabia recently complained that the Bush administration's support of Israel had damaged prospects for the Middle East peace process and soured relations with the Arab world.
According to Bush, Crown Prince Abdullah promised during the meeting that the country will not support any broadening of Iraq'soil embargo to include other angry Arab states.
"Saudi Arabia made it clear and made it clear publicly that they will not use oil as a weapon and I appreciate that, respect that and expect that to be the case," Bush said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2002)
