Israeli PM seeks to reassure Egypt before U.S. trip

By Joseph Nasr

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to reassure Egypt about his commitment to Middle East peace talks on Monday in preparation for his visit to the White House on May 18.

U.S. President Barack Obama has made clear that advancing Palestinian statehood would be a priority for his administration but has yet to say how he intends to do so. Egypt, like Washington, backs a two-state solution.

"We want, as soon as possible, to resume the peace talks with the Palestinians and I hope they will indeed resume in the coming weeks," Netanyahu told a joint news conference after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Netanyahu has yet to publicly endorse creating a Palestinian state and did not do so in his comments in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Jordan's King Abdullah told Monday's Times of London the United States was promoting a peace plan for the Middle East in which the entire Muslim world would recognize Israel.

A senior Israeli official said Netanyahu would travel to Jordan on Friday for talks with the Jordanian king.

Since taking office in April, Netanyahu has promised to seek economic, security and political talks with the Palestinians but has not committed to talks on territorial issues.

"The prime minister expressed his government's commitment to achieving peace, and I told him that Egypt expects positive gestures that reflect this commitment," Mubarak said.