广播听力：Agreement to Resume Mideast Peace Talks A Hopeful Beginning: Bush

Capping an intense 72 hour flurry of diplomacy, US President George W. Bush says the agreement by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resume long-stalled peace talks is "a hopeful beginning."

Bush was joined at the White House by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a brief Rose Garden ceremony.

He met earlier with the two leaders in separate Oval Office sessions.

The White House appearance came a day after Abbas and Olmert agreed in nearby Annapolis, Maryland, to try to reach a Mideast peace settlement by the end of 2008.

In his Rose Garden statement, Bush assured both sides that the US "will be actively engaged in the process."

"We will use our power to help you as you come up with the necessary decisions to lay out a Palestinian state that will live side-by-side in peace with Israel."

After inaugurating the negotiations at the White House, the two sides have reportedly agreed to continue with a meeting in the region on December 12.

The United States has pledged to hold both sides to account if they do not carry out obligations under the peace talks.