RAMALLAH - Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will meet U.S. President George W. Bush in
Washington on May 26, Palestinian officials said on Saturday, confirming earlier word of the summit from diplomatic sources.
Bush first extended an invitation to Abbas to visit the White House on Jan. 10 after Abbas was elected to replace the late Yasser Arafat, whom the U.S. president shunned as an obstacle to peace.
Conflicting reasons have been given for the delay.
Diplomatic sources in the United States said on Friday both the Americans and the Palestinians wanted to have more progress to show before the summit.
Abbas will fly to Washington for the three-day visit on May 24, Palestinian officials said.
Bush administration officials said it was a matter of finding a mutually agreeable time for the leaders to meet.
A truce between Israel and the Palestinians has been shaky, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he will not hold talks on Palestinian statehood until Abbas cracks
down on terrorists as required by the U.S.-backed "road map" for peace.
By expanding Jewish settlements on occupied land, Israel has also failed to meet its side of the blueprint for peaceful Palestinian statehood.
Bush met Sharon last month at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
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