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Bush wants peace by 2008
27/11/2007 18:41 - (SA)
Annapolis, Maryland - Opening a high-stakes Mideast peace conference, President George W Bush announced a joint agreement among Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday to reach a peace pact by the end of 2008.
Negotiations would begin within weeks to establish "a democratic Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and security", he said.
The agreement was reached after weeks of intense negotiations and it was not clear until Bush stepped to the podium in the majestic Memorial Hall at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis that the two sides would come together on how to move forward on the path toward peace.
"Today, Palestinians and Israelis each understand that helping the other to realise their aspirations is the key to realising their own, and both require an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state," Bush said.
"Such a state will provide Palestinians with the chance to lead lives of freedom, purpose and dignity. And such a state will help provide Israelis with something they have been seeking for generations: to live in peace with their neighbours."
- AP
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