Abdullah to Bush: Israel-PA talks must be based on fixed timetable

Jordan's King Abdullah II told U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday that stalled negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis should be based on clear grounds and fixed timetables as the United States pushes for reaching a Mideast peace agreement by next January.

Bush, beginning two days of Mideast diplomacy at the White House, met with the king over breakfast. It was a quick session; the king arrived and left within the span of an hour.

Later, Abdullah met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who also came to Washington to see Bush.

There was no immediate readout of the talks from the White House, but the Jordanian Embassy said Abdullah stressed the importance of U.S. involvement and Washington's role in overcoming obstacles to progress.

"King Abdullah said it is important that Israel refrains from measures that would jeopardize negotiations with the Palestinians and called for an end to all Israeli settlement activities, a lifting of the blockade and restrictions on the movement of Palestinians," the embassy said.

The next step comes Thursday when Bush meets with Abbas, who is struggling for authority in the West Bank against the militant Hamas movement that controls Gaza. Bush hopes to achieve some sort of peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel before leaving office in January.

The White House meetings are a prelude to Bush's planned visit to the Middle East next month, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel. He is also expected to visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The Bush administration is holding out hope it can arrange a peace summit during the visit, perhaps at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, where Bush is now set to see Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. But there are deep misgivings about such a meeting among both Arabs and the Israelis given the slow pace of negotiations, and prospects for the summit remain unclear, officials said.

Before Bush's trip, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending a Palestinian donors' conference that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will host in London on May 2. A ministerial meeting of the quartet of Mideast peace negotiators - which includes the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - is expected at the same time.

Officials said the Bush administration, which has already pledged $555 million to the Palestinians this year, was looking at slight increases to announce at the conference, but that a major boost in aid was unlikely, as Congress has not yet approved the budget.