US President Barack Obama will invite the Palestinian, Egyptian and Israeli leaders to the White House in the coming weeks for separate talks on moving forward with the Middle East "peace process", the White House said Tuesday.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president was issuing the invitations in hopes of building on talks he held earlier in the day with Jordan's King Abdullah II.
It was the first visit to the White House by an Arab leader since Obama took office in January.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be asked to sit down with the president in the coming weeks, Gibbs said.
No dates were set.
PHOTO CAPTION
US President Barack Obama walks with Jordan's King Abdullah outside the Oval Office, April 21, 2009.
Agencies