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US President George W. Bush has expressed optimism over the prospect for the Middle East peace, saying he believed peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians is possible.
Bush said he was "the kind of person who does what he says he's going to do, and I am going to achieve that. I think it's possible," Associated Press reported on Friday.
Bush made the remarks in an interview with Al-Arabiya news channel of the United Arab Emirates before starting his week-long trip abroad. He left here Friday morning for Poland, the first leg of his six-nation tour, which will also take him to Russia, France, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar.
During his first trip to the Middle East since he took office, Bush will meet Arab leaders in Egypt on Tuesday and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbasin Jordan on Wednesday, for talks on implementing the "roadmap" cosponsored by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Friday that the United States would seek commitment from both Israel and Palestine to implement the "roadmap" for peace.
"If we can come away from Aqaba (Jordan) with all three parties demonstrating their commitment to the roadmap and the Israelis and the Palestinians committing themselves ... to taking the steps, I think that will be a successful outcome," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Powell also said the US planned to set up a "coordination group" of US officials to keep the Israel and Palestine in touch after the meeting, and to help improve security conditions.
(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2003)
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