WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- The United States will seek Egypt's views on Israel's offer to pull out of the West Bank when President Hosni Mubarak visits Texas next week.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper Friday that although President George Bush and Mubarak will review the entire Middle East situation when they meet, the Israeli offer will figure high on their agenda.
"Clearly we'll want his views on the situation with Israel ... the pullout that's suggested by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," said Armitage.
Armitage said since the Israeli prime minister is visiting the United States soon after the Bush-Mubarak talks, "it's very important to have President Mubarak's views."
The second most important subject slated, he said, is the situation in Iraq, where U.S. forces are confronting an increasingly violent uprising.
Armitage said the United States would also like to hear Mubarak's views on the Arab summit, which was scheduled to begin in Tunisia on March 26 but had to be postponed due to intra-Arab differences.
Bush is meeting three key leaders from the Middle East this month, Mubarak and Sharon and Jordan's King Abdullah.
