US President George W. Bush onMonday welcomed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak into his private ranch to discuss issues of mutual concern, especially the recent development in the Middle East.

Addressing a joint press conference after their meeting in the ranch located in Crawford, Texas, both leaders were positive abouta possible Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip provided the proposal put forward by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in December last year is part of the stalled Middle East roadmap peace plan.

"We discussed the rumors of such a withdrawal, and we discussedit in the context of the two-state solution and the roadmap," Bushsaid.

"In other words, we both are in agreement that if Israel makes the decision to withdraw, it doesn't replace the roadmap, it is a part of the roadmap so that we can continue progress toward the two-state solution," he said.

"Let's wait till the prime minister comes. But if he were to decide to withdraw from the Gaza, it would be a positive development," the US president added.

The roadmap, developed by the United States, the European Union,Russia and the United Nations, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005 which lives with Israel in peace. But the efforts to implement the peace plan were stalled in September last year due to differences between Israelis and the Palestinians.

President Mubarak said that any Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territory is highly appreciated. But he noted that such an Israeli effort should coincide with the roadmap.

"I would like the withdrawal to coincide with the road map, which is very important, because withdrawing from Gaza alone without connecting it with the roadmap, we never know it will be Gaza alone," he said.

"It will be very difficult. It will not be accepted by the public opinion in the area," Mubarak stressed.

Talking about in Iraq, Mubarak said he conveyed his serious concerns about the development in Iraq to President Bush and called for an early restoration of Iraqi sovereignty and the preservation of Iraqi territorial integrity.

"On Iraq, I conveyed to the president our serious concerns about the current state of affairs, particularly in the security and humanitarian areas," Mubarak said.

"I further stressed the importance of restoring Iraq's sovereignty as soon as possible within a context that preserves its territorial integrity and unites all Iraqis toward a common future," he said.

"The recent effort to increase the role of the United Nations in that process is an important step that should be further encouraged," the Egyptian leader said.

Repeating a position he hammered at over the past two weeks amid mounting violence in Iraq, President Bush insisted that the United States will stick to its plan to return sovereignty to Iraqis.

"We will transfer sovereignty," he said, adding that a representative from the United Nations is in Baghdad to help devise the system to which the sovereignty could be transferred.

He said that the situation in Iraq has improved despite the sudden deterioration of security situation throughout Iraq over the past two weeks.

Bush accused the insurgents of trying to make a statement priorto the transfer of sovereignty, saying that the US forces will notlet "a small percentage of the Iraqi people" decide the fate of everybody.

The US president also announced that he will hold his first solo press conference of the year late Tuesday in the White House.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that the press conference will focus on the latest development in Iraq.

"We are at a critical period in Iraq and the president looks forward to talking to the American people and updating the American people where we are in Iraq right now and where we are headed," McClellan said.

Source: Xinhua