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CNN Live Today

President Bush Meets With Saudi Crown Prince

Aired April 25, 2002 - 13:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's start our coverage now of the White House there in Texas, where President Bush is meeting today with the Saudi crown prince. Our correspondent for the White House, Major Garrett, in Crawford with more on what promises to be a highly-charged summit there. Major, good afternoon.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Bill. You know, this is a fascinating story with so many different angles to it. Yes, of course, the topic at the top of the agenda for the crown prince and the president of the United States is the Middle East.

But there are so many other topics that relate to the issues about the Middle East. There's oil imports. There's -- what may happen with Iraq and will Saudi Arabia contribute in any way or help the United States in any way in what it intends to do in pursuing a regime change in Iraq. There's the whole question of Saudi cooperation on the war on terror, and the Saudi peace plan that is on the table before the Israelis and the Palestinians, maybe to break the logjam between the two. All of that on the table.

The Bush administration, as you said a moment ago, does expects to get something like an earful from the Saudi crown prince about what it perceives and what many in the Arab world perceive as a U.S. bias in favor of the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. We have some pictures of the Saudi crown prince arriving at the president's ranch here in Crawford, Texas. The president dressed up to formally greet the Saudi crown prince. There was quite a large Saudi entourage and several significant senior administration officials with the president as he greeted the crown prince at the ranch.

They're in the middle of what is to be about a three-hour meeting and a lunch and a tour of the president's ranch. And the president is going to try to find out from the Saudi crown prince exactly if there are any other dimensions to this peace proposal he has put before the Israelis and the Palestinians. Briefly described, Bill, that's where Israel would withdraw to its 1967 boarders in exchange for complete recognition from the entire Arab world of its right to exist in normal diplomatic relations.

Now, there's lots to be discussed as to what comes after a peace proposal like that, but it is on the table. The president wants to hear more about it. And the Saudis also want to hear about what pressure, if any -- the additional U.S. pressure, rather, President Bush will apply on the Israelis to get them out of Ramallah and end that siege at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem -- Bill.

HEMMER: Major, thank you. Major Garrett, we won't go long. Major Garrett in Crawford, Texas. Big news from there today.

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