Bush Arrives in Kuwait
By VOA News
11 January 2008
U.S. President George Bush has arrived in Kuwait - the first of five Arab countries he will visit on his Middle East tour.
Mr. Bush is scheduled to hold talks Friday, with the Emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The president will seek support for his Middle East peace plan and address Iran's growing influence in the region.
President Bush will also visit a U.S. military base near the capital, Kuwait City. He will meet there with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker.
Mr. Bush traveled to Kuwait after holding talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on a possible peace treaty and the creation of a Palestinian state.
Before departing from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, Mr. Bush told Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert there is a good chance for peace.
Mr. Bush said he accepted an invitation to return to the region in May.
The president also said both Palestinians and Israelis have difficult choices and painful concessions to make if they are to reach a lasting peace agreement. He gave an outline of a two-state peace deal he hopes will be signed before he leaves office next January.
Earlier today, Mr. Bush visited Israel's Yad Vashem memorial and placed a wreath on a concrete slab that covered the ashes of victims of the Nazi holocaust. The president also toured holy sites in the Galilee region.
After Kuwait, the president's Middle East tour will take him to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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