WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush said Tuesday that there should be "no expansion" of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories under the US-backed "road-map" to Middle East peace.
"Our position is very clear, that the roadmap is important, and the roadmap calls for no expansion of the settlements," Bush told reporters six days before he was to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The president was reacting to a question about Israeli plans to expand a major West Bank settlement outside Jerusalem, Maale Adumim, which has angered Palestinian leaders who warn it could derail peace talks.
"I'm optimistic that we can achieve a peace in the holy land. I'm optimistic because I firmly believe that Ariel Sharon wants to have a peaceful partner, wants there to be a democracy in the Palestinian territories," said Bush.
"I believe (Palestinian) President (Mahmud) Abbas wants the same thing. And there's a lot of hard work to be done, but we're making progress," said Bush, who was to hold talks at his Crawford, Texas ranch with Sharon on Monday.
"I look forward to meeting the prime minister in Crawford to continue to work with the parties to advance peace," said the US president.
04/05/2005 19:44 GMT