WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (AFP) - US media were hopeful Saturday about the prospects for reviving the Middle East peace process, and the British press was divided, a day after President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave an optimistic outlook of the situation following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The Washington Post editorial board said that, with Blair at his side, Bush "offered a heartening commitment to pursue Palestinian democracy and statehood" by 2009.
"His promise to 'spend the capital of the United States on such a state' should encourage leaders around the region who have despaired at US inaction on that front during Mr. Bush's first term," the Post said.
The New York Times, for its part, said in an analysis piece that "whatever the cynics say about the special relationship between the United States and Britain, it appeared to pay off" for Blair, "who came to Washington seeking to reinvigorate America's commitment to a Palestinian state on Israel's flanks."
"He came with a mission to get an unambiguous and strategic commitment from the American president to close a deal for a Palestinian state," the Times said, adding: "To some extent, he did."
The daily noted that, "by delivering Mr. Bush for the European agenda on Middle East peace," Blair "also stands to restore his badly tarnished credentials on the Continent, where he had styled himself as the essential European leader with real influence in Washington."
London newspapers were divided over the results of Blair's trip.
The Daily Telegraph, in its lead editorial, which recalled Blair's popularity across the United States, argued that Blair might be making a mistake "by demanding the internationalization" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the daily added: "There is no doubt that Washington is prepared to listen to him."
The Times, detecting a major shift in Middle East policy, said Friday's talks at the White House had produced a "blueprint" towards Middle East peace that was "practical" in nature.
More skeptical was the Guardian, which said: "Tony Blair and George Bush did not produce any rabbits out of their hats. ... There were no eye-catching announcements."
Bush and Blair were optimistic Friday about reviving the Middle East peace process following Arafat's death, but they were short on details about how to do it.
"I believe we've got a great chance to establish a Palestinian state. I would like to see it done in four years. I think it is possible," Bush declared at a joint press conference with Blair after a White House summit.
Bush gave no sign of concrete agreements to advance the peace process, dodging a question on whether he would push for a freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and hedging his bets on whether he would agree to host a Middle East conference.
"I'm all for conferences, just so long as the conferences produce something," Bush said.
"We'll do whatever it takes to get a peace," he said, a comment echoed by Blair on the day Arafat was buried in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Neither Bush nor Blair mentioned Arafat.
The Palestinian leader died in France last week and was buried Friday in Ramallah, where he had spent the past several years shunned by both the United States and Israel.
Bush and Blair outlined a five-point strategy committing to the two-state vision for Israel and a Palestinian state and promising to support Palestinians as they select a new president within 60 days.
They pledged to mobilize the international community for a stronger economy and security in a Palestinian state, endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw Israeli settlements from Gaza, and claimed these steps would "lay the basis for more rapid progress" on the roadmap to Middle East peace.
After the two leaders spoke, State Department officials said the United States was looking at a new round of diplomacy, including a Middle East trip by Secretary of State Colin Powell, to revive the peace process.
In a television interview to be broadcast Sunday, Powell said he hopes to meet with Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei and Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Mahmud Abbas "in the very near future to discuss what their plans are and how to move forward."
Powell told "The Wall Street Journal Report," a CNBC cable news program, that "what we're looking for is for the new Palestinian leadership to clamp down on terrorism, speak out against terrorism, and to use their security forces to go after those who commit acts of terror."
11/13/2004 18:37 GMT - AFP