Washington, Apr 27: US President George W. Bush plans to offer Jordan's King Abdullah II assurances that the United States has not pre-judged the outcome of eventual peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, US officials said. The assurances would come in the form of written letters of guarantee or statements of clarification aimed at assuaging Arab anger and confusion over Bush's April 14 endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's controversial disengagement plan, the officials said. Under plans now being finalized by US and Jordanian diplomats, King Abdullah would also present written documents to Bush pledging Jordan's support for Palestinian reform efforts as Israel moves to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip under the Sharon plan, the officials said. "They are planning an exchange of letters clarifying where things stand now and how we both think things should proceed," one official told a news agency on condition of anonymity.


That official said the statement would assert that while welcoming the Sharon plan, the united states remained firmly committed to the internationally backed "roadmap" for peace that has at its core the creation of a Palestinian state through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Another official said Jordan was particularly eager to get a written assurance that Bush's embrace of the Sharon plan did not mean the US had made up its mind about so-called "final status issues" which are reserved for those eventual direct talks.


Bureau Report