WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (AFP) - President George W. Bush said Monday that he was "impressed" by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and looked forward to separate spring meetings with him and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Bush, who was expected to welcome them to the White House in March or April, said Abbas` election and commitment to battling terrorism had improved the chances for peace and also praised Israel`s help with Palestinian voting.
"What you`re watching is a process unfolding, where people are becoming more trustworthy," the US president told reporters after holding the first Cabinet meeting of his second four-year term.
Bush, who shunned late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, had rare words of praise for Abbas as Washington signalled a newfound enthusiasm about trying to bring about Middle East peace.
"Prime Minister Abbas comes to the table with a mandate from a lot of Palestinians. He has been through an election. He was endorsed by the Palestinian people," said the US president.
"I have been impressed by Prime Minister Abbas` commitment to fighting off terror. I have been impressed by what he`s doing, his public statements," said Bush.
"I`ve also been impressed by the fact that Israel helped the Palestinians have an election, went out of their way to make sure that people were allowed to go to the polls," said Bush.
He said that "there needs to be a level of trust between all parties" in order to build an independent Palestinian state living at peace with Israel.
"All parties being, obviously, Israel and the Palestinians -- but trust with the United States, trust with the United Nations, trust with Europe, trust with the parties who are going to be investing in a Palestinian state," he said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan earlier had confirmed that Bush would welcome Abbas and Sharon to Washington separately "sometimes in the March and April timeframe."
McClellan declined to say whether Bush hoped to organize a three-way summit after those meetings.
McClellan`s comments came after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced during a stop in the West Bank that Sharon and Abbas had accepted Bush`s invitations to visit the White House "in the spring."
It will be the first visit of a Palestinian leader to Washington since Bush came to power. Sharon last visited the White House in April last year on what was his ninth trip to Washington since taking office in March 2001.
"This is a very hopeful period we`re in in the Middle East," said McClellan.
"We want to do everything we can to support efforts" to build an independent Palestinian state living side by side at peace with Israel.
"Everybody recognizes that there will periods of ups and downs along the way, but the steps that are being taken at this point in time are encouraging," said McClellan.
02/07/2005 17:30 GMT - AFP