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Bush heads for Gulf state talks Bush visits Gulf with peace plan
(about 7 hours later)
US President George W Bush has arrived in Kuwait after rounding off his trip to Israel and the West Bank with a promise to return in May. US President George W Bush has arrived in Kuwait as part of a tour of Gulf states that is likely to focus on Mid-East peace and containing Iran.
He is also due to visit the Gulf Arab states of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. After rounding off his first trip as president to Israel and the West Bank, he arrived in Kuwait City for talks with the Emir, Sheikh Sabah.
Analysts expect his talks to dwell on containing Iran's growing influence. He is also due to visit Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He ended the first leg of his tour with a visit to Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and Christian sites by the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. His aim is to encourage them to back Mahmoud Abbas as the Palestinian president negotiates with the Israelis.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says Mr Bush's arrival comes amid strains between Washington and its regional allies over the best way to contain Tehran. This is phase two of what many regard as Mission Impossible, the BBC's Matthew Price reports from Kuwait City.
'Chance for peace'
He says the US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear programme, released at the end of last year, undermined Mr Bush's policy of isolating Iran.
There's a good chance for peace and I want to help you George W Bush Call for Palestinian freedomMiddle East tour diaryThere's a good chance for peace and I want to help you George W Bush Call for Palestinian freedomMiddle East tour diary
The document said Iran's military nuclear research effort had stopped, although the Bush administration and key allies said Iran still posed a threat because of its ongoing uranium enrichment programme. Mr Bush hopes to encourage states like Kuwait to start a process of reaching out to Israel but even before the president landed, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was telling journalists not to expect any breakthrough.
The Saudi monarch King Abdullah now wants to pursue different methods of containing the Iranian threat from those favoured by Washington, says our correspondent. One problem, our correspondent notes, is that what concerns Gulf states like Kuwait the most is not the Israeli-Palestinian issue, but Iran and Washington's intentions.
Gulf leaders will be telling Mr Bush they want the stand-off resolved peacefully, not through military means, our correspondent says.
Iraq of course will also be discussed. Mr Bush will meet some of the 15,000 US troops stationed in Kuwait and he will also see his top general in Iraq and the US ambassador to that country.
Strong statement
During his three-day tour of Israel and the West Bank, Mr Bush made what analysts described as some of the strongest statements to date on the need for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.During his three-day tour of Israel and the West Bank, Mr Bush made what analysts described as some of the strongest statements to date on the need for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
He called for an end to the Israeli occupation of land seized in 1967 and he said he believed a peace deal could be signed by the end of this year, Israel's 60th anniversary, before he leaves office in 2009. Calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of land seized in 1967, he said he believed a peace deal could be signed by the end of this year, Israel's 60th anniversary, before he leaves office in 2009.
href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_palestinians_and_israelis_on_bush0s_visit/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_palestinians_and_israelis_on_bush0s_visit/html/1.stm', '1200065060', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=500,height=400,left=312,top=100'); return false;">Israeli and Palestinian views on the visit of George Bush href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_palestinians_and_israelis_on_bush0s_visit/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_palestinians_and_israelis_on_bush0s_visit/html/1.stm', '1200065060', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=500,height=400,left=312,top=100'); return false;" >In pictures "There's a good chance for peace and I want to help you," Mr Bush was quoted by AP news agency as telling Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres at Tel Aviv airport as he left on Friday.
"There's a good chance for peace and I want to help you," Mr Bush was quoted by AP news agency as telling Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres at Tel Aviv airport as left on Friday. Mr Bush had visited a number of Christian sites, including the Sea of Galilee and the Church of the Beatitudes and Capernaum.
Concluding his first presidential visit to the Holy Land, Mr Bush visited a number of Christian sites, including the Sea of Galilee and the Church of the Beatitudes and Capernaum.
He also rekindled an eternal flame and laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, which he first visited in 1998 as governor of Texas.He also rekindled an eternal flame and laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, which he first visited in 1998 as governor of Texas.
Wearing a black skullcap, he said the museum was a "sobering reminder that evil exists and a call that when we find evil we must resist it".Wearing a black skullcap, he said the museum was a "sobering reminder that evil exists and a call that when we find evil we must resist it".