U.S. President George W. Bush welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz to his Texas ranch today for talks expected to focus on the Middle East peace process and soaring oil prices. Before going to visit Bush, the crown prince will meet in Dallas, Texas late Sunday with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who will also take part in Monday's meeting. Bush and Abdullah will also discuss Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip, Syria's role in Lebanon and a U.S.-Saudi economic agreement that would speed the kingdom's entry to the World Trade Organization. On the Middle East, the crown prince was expected to raise his initiative for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which the Arab League adopted at its summit in 2002 but which Israel has rejected. The blueprint, raised anew at last month's Arab summit in Algiers, calls for the creation of a Palestinian state and offers Israel peaceful relations with Arab countries if it withdraws from Arab land it has held since the 1967 war. But the White House has shown little interest in that plan, focusing most of its energies on seeking global support for Israel's decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip while keeping some West Bank settlements.
Another sensitive topic will be soaring gas prices in the United States, which experts blame in part for the sharp drop in Bush's approval ratings - to his lowest level in some polls since taking office in January 2001. Bush has promised to press Abdullah during Monday's meeting to do more to help ease global oil prices, which have soared well beyond $50 a barrel. But he has acknowledged there may be little the Saudis can do to quickly bring down prices. Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi promised last week to increase production capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day by 2009 from the current 11 million limit and, if necessary, eventually develop a capacity of 15 million barrels per day. The kingdom now pumps about 9.5 million barrels daily.