"We're making progress," Mr Obama said, after the Oval Office talks.

(Kazan, September 2, Tatar-Inform). US President Barack Obama said his Middle East peace initiative was making "progress" after wrapping up talks with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, ABC News reports.

The meetings were part of a day of intense diplomacy with Middle East leaders on the eve of the first direct Israeli-Palestinian talks for 20 months.

"We're making progress," Mr Obama said, after escorting Mr Abbas to his limousine after the Oval Office talks, which followed a similar meeting between the US president and Mr Netanyahu.

Mr Obama is later due to meet Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, before all five men front a joint press appearance and a private White House dinner.

Mr Obama promised to put the "full weight" of the US behind the effort to forge peace between Israelis and Palestinians in direct talks between the two sides.

"If both sides do not commit to these talks in earnest, then the long-standing conflict will only continue to fester and consume another generation," he said. "This we simply cannot allow. We know there will be moments that test our resolve. We know that extremists and enemies of peace will do everything in their power to destroy this effort."

With Mr Netanyahu by his side, Mr Obama condemned what he called the "senseless slaughter" of the Israelis near the settlement of Kyriat Arba near Hebron.

"The message should go out to Hamas - and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes - that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course," Mr Obama said.

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