US President George W Bush has insisted that the Middle East peace mission of his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was not a total failure. Mr Powell ended his 10-day visit on Wednesday without clinching a ceasefire or securing a full Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian areas. Mr Powell said on Wednesday that the withdrawal from the West Bank was proceeding more slowly than he wanted, but Israel had given him a "timeline" and he had been "assured of results in the next few days". President Bush said progress had been made during Mr Powell's visit and that "the only long-term solution is for two states - Israel, Palestine - to live side by side in security and in peace". Mr Powell himself said a ceasefire was impossible until Israeli incursions into Palestinian territory ended and the Palestinians fully renounced violence.

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