Obama invites Mideast leaders for separate White House talks

President Barack Obama has invited Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders for separate talks in the next few weeks on the Middle East peace process, the White House said on Tuesday.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the White House was trying to finalize dates for visits by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The visits were likely to take place before Obama's scheduled trip to France in June, he said.

"With each of them the president will discuss ways the United States can strengthen and deepen our partnerships with them, as well as the steps all parties must take to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Arab states," Gibbs told a news conference.

Obama on Tuesday urged Palestinians and Israelis to "step back from the abyss," and said he hoped to see peacemaking gestures of good faith from both sides over the coming months.

"What we have to do is step back from the abyss," Obama told reporters after meeting Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House.

"My hope would be that over the next several months, that you start seeing gestures of good faith on all sides," Obama said. "I don't want to get into the details of what those gestures might be, but I think that the parties in the region probably have a pretty goodrecognition of what intermediate steps could be taken as confidence-building measures."

The president added that his administration and special Mideast envoy George Mitchell had not finished listening to both sides and wanted to give Netanyahu's more time to "formulate" policy and "solidify" its position.

"I agree that we can't talk forever, that at some point steps have to be taken so that people can see progress on the ground. And that will be something that we will expect to take place in the coming months," Obama said.

"Unfortunately, right now what we've seen not just in Israel, but within the Palestinian territories, among the Arab states, worldwide, is a profound cynicism about the possibility of any progress being made whatsoever," he added.

"I am a strong supporter of a two-state solution. I have articulated that publicly, and I will articulate that privately," said Obama. "And I think that there are a lot of Israelis who also believe in a two-state solution."

Obama condemns Ahmadinejad, but still wants talks

The U.S. president condemned his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over the latter's "appalling and objectionable" comments against Israel, issued a day earlier at the United Nations conference against racism in Geneva.

Obama told reporters that Ahmadinejad's comments would not only hurt any efforts to improve U.S.-Iranian ties but also undermine Iran's international standing. Nevertheless, he said he was still interested in pursuing talks according to an overture made earlier this year.

"We will continue to pursue the possibility of improved relations and a resolution to some of the critical issues in which there have been differences, particularly around the nuclear issues," Obama said after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House.

Obama said he wanted tough direct talks with long-time foe Iran "without taking a whole host of other options off the table" - a phrase that has sometimes been used by past U.S. administrations to signal the possible use of military force.

Emmanuel: Obama committed to two-state solution

Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, on Tuesday told Anti-Defamation League members that the Obama administration would continue to communicate with the Muslim world through overseas trip, in an attempt to strengthen America's reputation abroad.

Emmanuel reiterated the administration's intention to help advance a two-state solution for the Palestinians and the Israelis, as well as its commitment to Israel's security.

"We are committed to seeing the peace process through to a two-state solution, so that there will be a homeland for the Palestinians and a secure state of Israel for the Jewish people," said Emmanuel.