Jordanian official - Bush to take part in peace summits

AMMAN, Jordan -- Jordan's information minister said Tuesday that President Bush is scheduled to meet Arab and Israeli leaders at two summits in Egypt and Jordan next week in a bid to reinvigorate Mideast peacemaking. But the White House said Bush has not yet made a decision.

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush is considering "a number of possibilities" for meetings after the G-8 gathering in France.

"It's under active consideration, the possibility of meetings," Fleischer said. "The president continues to review the exact manner in which he will ... help bring the parties together in bringing peace to the Middle East."

Jordanian Information Minister Mohammad Affash Adwan said Bush will meet several Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

He said Bush was also due to attend a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, in Jordan's resort of Aqaba.

"President Bush will meet with several Arab leaders in Sharm el-Sheik, including his majesty the king and President Hosni Mubarak," Adwan told The Associated Press. "Jordan will also host in Aqaba in the presence of his majesty the second summit, which will bring together the American president with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers."

Adwan said consultations were under way to "specify the dates of both summits."

The Information Ministry later issued a statement to announce that the meetings would be held. The statement was carried on Jordan's official Petra news agency and on state television.

Earlier Tuesday, Egypt's state Middle East News Agency said Bush planned a June 4 summit with the leaders of Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia in Sharm el-Sheik and would meet June 5 with Sharon and Abbas in Aqaba.

The agency, which cited no sources for its news item, is close to the Egyptian government.

Egyptian officials contacted by AP said preparations were under way but nothing had been settled.

Bush administration officials have said the president hopes to meet with Sharon and Abbas in Egypt or Jordan. The officials in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasized that plans could change.

On Sunday, Sharon's Cabinet conditionally approved a U.S.-sponsored peace plan known as the road map. The Palestinians accepted the road map weeks ago.

The Middle East News Agency said Bush and the Arab leaders will discuss "means of ensuring the implementation of" the road map, a three-phase peace plan sponsored by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations that calls for a halt to violence and a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2005.