WASHINGTON (voa) – President Bush and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah meet Thursday at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, where they are expected to focus on how to advance the Saudi leader’s Mideast peace plan.
Leaders at last month’s Arab summit in Beirut endorsed the plan. It calls for Israel to withdraw from all lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war in return for full recognition from the Arab world.
U.S. officials say Mr. Bush will also repeat his call for Arab states to stop inciting violence against Israelis and do more to combat terrorism. They say he will also try to shore up Saudi support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Abdullah is expected to criticize U.S. peacemaking efforts in the Middle East as one-sided, favoring Israel.
Also taking part in the talks will be U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. Mr. Powell says he will ask about the destination of proceeds from a recent telethon on Saudi state television that raised more than $100-million in aid for the Palestinians.
Wednesday, he told a U.S. Senate committee that the United States has seen indications some of the money may be going to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a possibility he called “troubling.” Hamas has sponsored many terrorist attacks against Israelis, including suicide bombings.
Crown Prince Abdullah met with Vice President Dick Cheney and other top U.S. officials Wednesday in the city of Houston for talks that were expected to focus on trade and security issues.
Tensions between Washington and Riyadh have been on the rise in recent months. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers allegedly involved in the September 11 terrorist attacks were Saudi nationals. Afterward, Saudi officials did not allow U.S. forces to use a sophisticated air base to launch attacks on Afghanistan’s Taleban rulers and Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network.
