Bush sees 'bond' with Saudi leader after talks at ranch

CRAWFORD, Texas -- Despite differences, President Bush said he and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia forged a personal bond Thursday in five hours of talks at the president's Texas ranch and Abdullah promised not to "use oil as a weapon" to show Arab anger over U.S. support for Israel.

The president's upbeat assessment contrasted with recent Saudi complaints that his backing of Israel had damaged prospects for Mideast peace and threatened the United States' 70-year alliance with the desert kingdom.

"There is a lot of anger at the U.S. for what is perceived as a lack of restraining (Ariel) Sharon," the Israeli prime minister, said Adel Al-Jubeir, the foreign policy adviser to Abdullah. "The crown prince wanted to make sure the president was aware of this."

Bush told reporters afterward that U.S.-Saudi relations were strong.

"A strategy by some would be to split the United States and Saudi Arabia. It's a strong important friendship and he knows that, I know that, and we're not going to let that happen," he said.

He took a personal view of that friendship after he and Abdullah, who spoke in Arabic and used a translator, lingered in their meetings and a drive in Bush's pickup truck through the woods of his Prairie Chapel Ranch.

"One of the really positive things out of this meeting is the fact the crown prince and I established a strong personal bond," Bush said. "We've spent a lot of time alone discussing our respective visions, talking about our families."

The Israeli-Palestinian crisis dominated Bush's first face-to-face meeting with Abdullah.

'Shared vision'

"There is a shared vision," the president said, adding that they discussed possible next steps in implementing a Saudi peace plan championed by Abdullah and endorsed by the 22-member Arab League.

The crown prince, who rarely comments to the media, left without speaking to reporters.

Bush said his demand that Israel withdraw from Palestinian areas still stands: "I made it clear to him that I expected Israel to withdraw, just like I've made it clear to Israel. And we expect them to be finished." He also said Israel must resolve standoffs in Ramallah and Bethlehem "in a nonviolent way."

Bush said he was grateful for Abdullah's assurance that Saudi Arabia would not support any other angry Arab states joining Iraq's oil embargo.

The Saudi leader "made it clear ... that they will not use oil as a weapon and I appreciate that, respect that and expect that to be the case," Bush said.