US President George W. Bush called upon Arab nations Saturday to fulfill their responsibilities in helping the Palestinians reach a peace deal with Israel and achieving an overall reconciliation with the Jewish state.
In his weekly radio address, delivered from Kuwait during a tour of Gulf states, Bush said that during his visits to Gulf Arab states over the next few days "he will urge them to do their part."
"The United States will do all we can to encourage these negotiations and promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians," said Bush, who reiterated his belief that a peace agreement can be reached this year. "But the international community has a responsibility to help as well. "In particular, the Arab nations of the Gulf have a responsibility both to support (Palestinian) President Abbas, Prime Minister Fayyad, and other Palestinian leaders as they work for peace, and to work for a larger reconciliation between Israel and the Arab world," said the president.
"Achieving this vision will require tough decisions and painful concessions from both sides," he said Saturday. Bush's national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, said on Thursday that Arab countries can provide both diplomatic and financial support to Abbas' government, as well as to begin to reach out to Israel.
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