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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1475-2004May4.html
U.S. Retreats from Bush Remarks on Sharon Plan; Effort is Intended to Placate Arabs
(Washington Post) Glenn Kessler - The Bush administration on Tuesday joined in a high-level diplomatic statement that stressed that the key issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians must be negotiated by both sides, just weeks after President Bush pronounced that Israel could keep some West Bank settlements and Palestinian refugees should not resettle in Israel. U.S. officials and foreign diplomats described the statement as an effort by the Bush administration to repair the international damage from the president's remarks last month, which had drawn sharp criticism in the Arab world and from European allies. Secretary of State Powell said, "We are in conversation with our other Arab friends to see what assurances and comments they may need from us to make sure that they know that the president has not abandoned them."