In seclusion at a Texas ranch, US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are today discussing ideas for an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire before Secretary of State Colin Powell's Middle East trip.
Mr Bush and Mr Blair were anxiously watching events in the Middle East, where Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had not yet responded to Mr Bush's call for an end to Israeli incursions in Palestinian areas.
"We will obviously be looking at ideas that can lead to a cease-fire, which is the essential precondition so that they get back into a process of political dialogue," Mr Blair said last night.
Mr Bush played host to Mr Blair at his central Texas ranch as a show of respect for a leader with whom the US president has developed a friendship since he took office 15 months ago.
Mr Bush calls the Prairie Chapel Ranch his real home, a place where he can work on a nature trail, fish for bass in a pond, and generally recharge his batteries. Increasingly, he is using it as a place for important meetings, having Russian President Vladimir Putin here last November and planning to host Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah later this month.
Mr Bush and Mr Blair are due to give a press conference at 10 a.m. (3 p.m. Irish time).