Washington: Israeli President Shimon Peres said that reaching a formal comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians would be "extremely difficult" right now because of the "emotional" nature of unresolved disputes.

"In the political negotiations, the gaps are not very great, but they are highly emotional," Peres told The Washington Post. "It will be extremely difficult to put them on paper because each party looks to its own audience and will be very careful not to appear as losers."

The Israeli leader argued the unresolved issues were of varying complexity and suggested resolving them one by one rather than as part of an overall, all-encompassing deal.

"We cannot compare, for example, the issue of Jerusalem with the issue of borders," Peres said. "If we can agree on borders, let's agree. If we can agree on refugees, let's agree. It will take time."

The comments came as US President George W Bush heads to the Middle East this week, where his efforts to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace face growing scepticism with less than nine months left in his term.

The five-day trip is anchored on the 60th anniversary of Israel as a modern state, a stop in Saudi Arabia to mark 75 years of US relations with the kingdom, and talks in Egypt with a broad range of regional leaders.
Source : PTI