Video

Flanked by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday formally declared a "hopeful beginning" to a renewed process to bring peace to the Middle East.

"Yesterday was an important day, and it was a hopeful beginning," Bush said in a brief statement from the Rose Garden, referring to Tuesday's last-minute Israeli-Palestinian agreement to secure a peace deal by the end of 2008.

But what counts now is the days beyond, Bush said, stressing the importance of future bilateral negotiations and the responsibility of both sides to honour their commitments.

"One thing I have assured both gentlemen is that the United States will be actively engaged in the process," Bush said. "We will use our power to help you as you come up with the necessary decisions to lay out a Palestinian state that will live side-by-side in peace with Israel."

The U.S. president commended Olmert and Abbas, telling them "it's an honour to call you friends.

"And it's an honour to have watched you yesterday as you laid out your respective visions for something we all want, which is peace in the holy land," he added.

Olmert phones Harper

Earlier in the day, the two Mideast leaders met privately with Bush in the Oval Office before the photo-op at the Rose Garden.

Meanwhile in Ottawa, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Olmert called him prior to question period, and that he was left with a positive impression of the outcome of the Mideast summit in Annapolis, Md., which wrapped up Tuesday.

Harper said he assured Olmert that Canada stands ready to assist the peace process in any way.

"Canada is optimistic about the meetings," Harper said.

U.S. special Mideast envoy named

Shortly after the Rose Garden briefing, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza named Gen. James Jones to serve as a special U.S. facilitator in the restarted Mideast peace talks.

Jones, a retired Marine Corps commander, is well known in Ottawa as the former NATO chief who led the force when Canadian troops were first deployed to Afghanistan.

"He's got a lot of friends in the Canadian government and certainly a lot of friends in the military," CBC Washington correspondent Henry Champ reported Wednesday.

In his new appointment as a Mideast security adviser, Jones is expected to help the Israelis and Palestinians with military issues.

Rice described Jones as "an experienced leader who can address the regional security challenges comprehensively, and at the highest levels."

He is "the person we need to take up this vital mission," she said.

Wednesday's invitation to the White House for Olmert and Abbas was to ceremonially inaugurate the first formal, direct negotiations between the two sides since U.S.-brokered talks at Camp David collapsed in 2000.

The agreement to launch a fresh round of peace talks was salvaged at the last minute on Tuesday, just before Bush addressed delegates from more than 40 countries.

First formal peace talks Dec. 12

Bush said the two leaders agreed to "immediately launch good faith, bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues, including core issues, without exception."

However, the final-status agreement will require each side to fulfil its obligations under the U.S.-shaped "road map" peace plan, which calls for the cessation of Palestinian violence against Israel, the freezing of settlement expansion, as well as the resolution of the disputed status of Jerusalem.

Shortly after the accord was announced, Abbas told the conference any Mideast peace deal should ensure that Palestinians have East Jerusalem as their capital in an independent Palestinian state. He also called for an immediate halt to construction and expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The first formal peace talks are to be held Dec. 12, Bush said, with Abbas and Olmert meeting every two weeks after that.

The skepticism that surrounded the U.S. diplomatic push ahead of the Annapolis conference appeared muted Wednesday following the positive images of Olmert and Abbas shaking hands on stage with Bush.

Former Abbas adviser Ghaith al-Omari said Wednesday he was "very optimistic" the meetings will lead to a final-status agreement and an end to decades of violence and hatred in the region.

"I believe this time next year we will be talking about a peace deal and we will be talking about how to establish a Palestinian state," al-Omari told CBC News in an interview from Washington.

'Genuine will'

Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to Canada, Alan Baker, spoke Wednesday of a "genuine will" on both sides to reach an accord and a "chemistry" between the two leaders.

But he also said it was too early to determine whether an accord could be reached by the end of 2008.

"Only God knows," Baker told CBC News in an interview from Ottawa.

He cited continued violence in Gaza and the almost daily rocket attacks launched by militants against Israel as critical security issues the Palestinians must resolve before a deal can be reached.

"This is a vital component of this process and is going to have to be achieved in order for these negotiations to go forward in good faith," he said.

But in a sign of the difficult road ahead, Abbas's speech was immediately rejected by Islamist movement Hamas, which now controls the Gaza Strip and has insisted Abbas has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.

With files from the Associated Press