SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt — President Bush sought to assure Arabs on Saturday that he is committed to securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of the year, as he arrived at this Red Sea resort for a quick round of consultations with key allies.
“It breaks my heart to see the vast potential of the Palestinian people really wasted,” Bush told reporters after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “They’re good, smart, capable people that when given a chance will build a thriving homeland. It’ll be an opportunity to end the suffering that takes place in the Palestinian Territory.”
Bush’s comments appeared to be an effort to address criticism in the Arab world of his strong words of support for Israel on its 60th anniversary, remarks that newspapers and officials in the region said ignored Palestinian sensitivities.
For his part, Abbas voiced confidence in Bush. “We know very well that you, personally, as well as your administration are committed to reach peace before the end of 2008,” the Palestinian president said. But it was unclear whether the Palestinians and Israelis are making much progress on the final borders of a Palestinian state and the other issues that divide them.
Bush flew here after a breakfast with Saudi King Abdullah in a round of meetings with foreign leaders gathered for a conference of the World Economic Forum. Bush also conferred with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and he was planning to meet with top officials from Iraq, Pakistan and Jordan today.
Bush expressed satisfaction with the modest increase in oil production announced by Saudi Arabia this week and put the onus on the United States to bring down the price of gas by taking steps such as expanding oil exploration and conservation efforts.
“We’ve got to do more at home,” Bush said after meetings with Abdullah on Friday and Saturday morning. “One of the interesting things about American politics is, those who are screaming the loudest for increased production from Saudi Arabia are the very same people who are fighting the fiercest against domestic exploration, against the development of nuclear power and against expanding refining capacity.”
While Democrats in Congress are demanding that the Saudis boost production more aggressively, those comments suggested that Bush believes he has done all he can to encourage the Saudis to act. It was the second time Bush has discussed soaring prices with Abdullah in recent months, and the second time the Saudis have told him that they do not intend to ramp up production substantially.
In detailed briefings Friday, the Saudis told Bush they are already spending billions to expand capacity to meet increased demand from their customers. After the meeting, however, they announced that they had already boosted production by 300,000 barrels a day, a move that would bring overall production to roughly 9.4 million barrels a day. The kingdom’s production capacity is 11.3 million barrels.
“It’s something, but it doesn’t solve our problem,” Bush said. “Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration. Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy and continue our strategy for the advancement of alternative energies, as well as conservation.”
Bush blamed Congress for blocking some of these ideas but said he had told the king and Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi “very plainly” that they should be “concerned about the effects of high oil prices on some of the biggest customers in the world. And not only that, of course, high energy prices are going to cause countries like mine to accelerate our move toward alternative energy.”
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