As Palestinian leader Yasser Artafat was laid to rest yesterday, US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to help Palestinians elect a new leader and begin a new drive for a two-state solution in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Mr Bush, who during his first term largely disengaged from the Middle East Peace process, said he was willing to "spend the capital of the US" in his second term to help create a Palestinian state.
The two transatlantic allies were speaking at a White House press conference shortly after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was buried amid tumultuous scenes of grief in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Mr Bush said he would travel to Europe as soon as possible after his second inauguration on January 20th to "deepen our transatlantic ties".
In language signalling a desire to mend frayed relations with traditional allies over Iraq, the US President said that America and Europe remained close partners and "pillars of the free world", with the moral purpose of advancing human dignity and freedom.
There was now "a great chance to establish a Palestinian state" and a broader Middle East peace, Mr Bush told reporters. "I would like to see it done in four years. I think it is possible." Mr Bush did not, however, commit himself to an international conference on the Middle East, something that Mr Blair supports, and declined to say whether he would urge Israel to stop settlement activity on the West Bank.
"I'm all for conferences," said Mr Bush, who described Mr Blair as a statesman and friend, "just as long as a conference produces something." If an international conference could produce a strategy, then "you bet I'm a big supporter", he said.
While declaring that there was a new opportunity for resolving the conflict with Mr Arafat's passing, Mr Bush put the onus squarely on the new Palestinian leadership to make the first move.
The US is "looking forward to working with Palestinian leaders who are committed to fighting terrorism and committed to democratic reform", Mr Bush said at the press conference after his two-day summit with Mr Blair.
The election of a new Palestinian president, due within 60 days, was a first step, he said, and "we'll hold their feet to the fire to make sure that democracy prevails".
Mr Bush also said the US stood ready to mobilise the international community to help revive the Palestinian economy and build up institutions to fight terror and corruption, "and to reform the Palestinian political system and build democratic institutions".
Mr Blair said: "If we want a viable Palestinian state, we want to make sure the political, the economic and the security infrastructure of that state is shaped and comes into being." With the election of a new Palestinian president, they had a chance to "put the first marker down", he said.
Later it emerged that US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, would travel to the Middle East soon to meet Palestinian and Israeli officials for talks on creating conditions for Palestinian elections.
Mr Bush dismissed critics of Mr Blair who called him a lackey of the US.