More Saudi oil not a solution, Bush cautions

Mubarak, other Arabs raise concerns about his peace bid

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - President Bush said Saudi Arabia's small increase in oil production will not solve soaring U.S. fuel prices, but he defended the kingdom Saturday against American lawmakers "screaming the loudest" for Riyadh to open its spigots.

Bush also encountered Arab criticism that he favors Israel too heavily and was bluntly questioned by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak about whether he is serious about peacemaking.

On the last stop of his travels, Bush held a rapid-fire series of diplomatic meetings at this Red Sea resort. After talks with Mubarak, Bush saw Afghan President Hamid Karzai and had dinner with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Today, he will confer with the leaders of Pakistan, Jordan and Iraq. He said every meeting advances prospects for peace.

As oil prices hit another record high Friday, Saudi King Abdullah rebuffed Bush's request for higher oil production to take the pressure off prices. Bush said he cautioned the king about the repercussions of skyrocketing prices.

"I said very plainly, I said,'You've got to be concerned about the effects of high oil prices on some of the biggest customers in the world. And not only that, of course, high energy prices [are] going to cause countries like mine to accelerate our move toward alternative energy.'"

Saudi officials said the kingdom was pumping all the oil that its customers want and that production had been increased by 300,000 barrels a day earlierthis month.

"It's something, but it doesn't solve our problem," Bush said. "Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration. Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy and continue our strategy for the advancement of alternative energies, as well as conservation."

Bush turned his fire on Democrats back home threatening to kill a $1.4 billion arms sale to Riyadh unless it pumps at least 1 million additional barrels a day.

"One of the interesting things about American politics these days is those who are screaming the loudest for increased production from Saudi Arabia are the very same people who are fighting the fiercest against domestic exploration, against the development of nuclear power and against expanding refining capacity," Bush said after talks with Karzai.

The president's first appointment was with 80-yearold Mubarak, who has led an authoritarian government in Egypt since 1981.

Bush said he was "absolutely committed" to reaching an Israeli-Palestinian agreement by the end of his presidency in January. But there was no sign during Bush's five-day Mideast trip that the two sides are moving closer toward an accord.

"It breaks my heart to see the vast potential of the Palestinian people really wasted," Bush said. Pledging the creation of an independent homeland, Bush said, "It'll be an opportunity to end the suffering that takes place in the Palestinian territories."

With Israel's occupation of Arab lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war entering its fifth decade, most Palestinians live in poverty.

Egypt's state-owned media attacked Bush for his speech Thursday before the Israeli Knesset. The media accused Bush of being overly supportive of the Israelis and not mentioning the Palestinians' plight.

"The Torah-inspired speech of Bush raised question marks over the credibility of the U.S.role in the Middle East," wrote Mursi Atallah, the publisher of Al-Ahram, a state-owned daily newspaper. "Bush aims to do nothing but appeasing Israel."

Arab leaders are pressing Bush to hold Israelis to promised concessions.

"All of us realize the special relationship that exists between the United States and Israel and its political dimensions," said Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister. "However, it is also important to confirm legitimate historical and political rights of the Palestinian people according to international law which have been hijacked by Israeli occupational forces."

Bush, in his address Thursday, showered Israel with praise, strongly reiterated its right to defend itself and only gently urged leaders to "make the hard choices necessary," without mention of concrete steps. He did not visit the Palestinian territories nor mention the Palestinians' plight. He spoke of them only inone sentence saying that Israel's 120th anniversary - in 2068 - would see it neighboring an independent Palestinian state.

Bush said Mubarak "wanted to make sure that my approach toward the Middle Eastern peace is firm and that we work hard to get the Palestinian state defined. I believe we can get a state defined by the end of my presidency, and we'll work hard to achieve that objective."

He repeated those assurances later to Abbas.

For his part, Abbas voiced confidence in Bush. "We know very well that you, personally, as well as your administration are committed to reach peace before the end of 2008," the Palestinian president said.

Hundreds of the region's top political, academic and business figures are gathered in Sharm el-Sheik for the annual World Economic Forum on the Middle East.

"Every one of these meetings helps advance the process. Every one of these meetings helps us inch toward the goal of getting a state defined with borders and the refugee issues, as well as security concerns, defined by the end of my presidency," Bush said.

Bush will address the meeting today and said he will urge Arab leaders Monday to reject the regimes of Iran and Syria, calling them "spoilers" that impede progress toward a better life in the Middle East.

Countries in the region should "move past old grievances and embrace the changes necessary for a day when societies across the Middle East are based on justice, tolerance and freedom," Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address.

Bush said he will press for expanded political and economic freedoms as "the only way to ensure true prosperity." Information for this article was contributed by Michael Abramowitz of The Washington Post, by Hannah Allam of McClatchy Newspapers and by Holly Rosenkrantz of Bloomberg News.

Front Section, Pages 1, 20 on 05/18/2008

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