Abbas wins White House red carpet

By Gordon Corera
BBC correspondent in Washington

The mere presence of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in the White House - and his warm welcome from President George Bush - is as significant a development as what was said publicly by the two men.

Mr Abbas heard Mr Bush reaffirm commitments to a Palestinian state

It marks the first time a Palestinian leader has been given the red carpet treatment during the Bush presidency.

Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat has been shunned by the administration as someone they could not do business with. President Bush's warm words of support will be designed to bolster the position of Mr Abbas.

"The Middle East needs leaders of vision and courage and determination to serve the interests of their people," Mr Bush said. "Mr Abbas is the first Palestinian prime minister, and he is proving to be such a leader."

Mr Abbas - also known as Abu Mazen - did get more than just a photo opportunity in the Rose Garden as President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to the existence of a Palestinian state.

The position of Abu Mazen remains weak at home and, if he cannot win some concessions, he is at risk of being seen as someone unable to deliver real benefits and being too much "America's man".

Economic push

Acknowledging this, President Bush talked extensively of the need to do more to improve the daily life of ordinary Palestinians.

The United States will strive to see that promises are kept US President George W Bush

As well as trumpeting $20m of direct aid which was recently approved, Mr Bush talked of setting up a joint economic development group to bring jobs and investment into Palestinian areas.

He also promised to send his commerce and treasury chiefs to look at how to build economic foundations for what he called "a free and sovereign Palestinian state".

On the agenda for Abu Mazen in his Oval Office meeting were a number of areas where progress seems to be stalled - notably the release of Palestinian prisoners, the freezing of settlement activity and the fence being constructed to separate Palestinians from Israelis.

Abu Mazen said that "nothing less than a full settlement freeze will do" - "and the wall must come down" or else a Palestinian state may become a practical impossibility.

Political promises

President Bush's language on some of the issues will be very welcome to the Palestinians.

"I think the wall is a problem and I've discussed this with [Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon," Mr Bush stated when asked about Israel's controversial security fence.

He also reaffirmed the US call to end settlement activity, perhaps the biggest demand which Abu Mazen has at the moment.

"I've constantly spoken out about the end of settlements. I have done so consistently," he declared.

But President Bush did maintain a strong line on the need to fight terror.

On prisoners, he argued for reviewing the issue on a case by case basis and he constantly linked progress on other issues to progress on security and fighting terrorism.

Sharon next

That is the single key issue on which Mr Sharon will focus during his visit to the White House next Tuesday as he presses for the dismantling of "terrorist organisations and their infrastructure".

"Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the roadmap to peace," President Bush said.

"In order for us to be able to make progress on a lot of difficult issues, there has to be a firm and continued commitment to fight terror."

It will be only after the meeting with Mr Sharon that we really get a sense of how successful this round of diplomacy has been in moving forward the peace process.

But the meeting with Abu Mazen has shown that President Bush intends to keep the US actively and intimately involved in the process.

"I committed to both sides that the United States will strive to see that promises are kept and monitor the parties' progress on this difficult journey," he said.