SHUNEH, May 15: US Secretary of State Colin Powell moved on Saturday to reassure skeptical Arab nations that Washington remains committed to the creation of a Palestinian state , saying the United States was prepared to 'take risks' and 'endure controversy' to end the Middle East conflict.

After talks with Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei - the highest level US contact with the premier since he took office last year- Mr Powell told a gathering of Arab and other officials that US President George W. Bush was 'absolutely committed' to the peace process.

He allowed that Bush's endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, which infuriated the Arab world, had been 'controversial' but stressed it had also been a 'bold decision' aimed at reviving the near moribund 'roadmap' blueprint for peace.

"We will not stop working with our Palestinian and Israeli colleagues to move this process forward," Mr Powell told a meeting of the World Economic Forum at this Dead Sea resort.

"We will take risks, risks that may be controversial when you see what we do from time to time ... but we will take those risks and we will endure the controversy when we think it is in the cause of peace," he said.

His speech was met with polite applause from the audience, which included Mr Qorei, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa.

Mr Powell urged the gathering to embrace Sharon's proposal which, if implemented, would see Israel's evacuation of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip but only few in the West Bank.

Although Sharon's own Likud party rejected the plan in a May 2referendum, he is now trying to push through a watered-down version of the package. Mr Powell said once a revised version was ready, the world should be ready to act on it.

"We must seize it and find a way to take maximum advantage of it," he said, echoing comments he made after seeing Mr Qorei privately in Amman.

Mr Qorei had pronounced himself satisfied with that meeting, describing it as 'very, very constructive', but gave no hint as to whether the Palestinians were prepared to accept the Sharon plan.

Instead, he reaffirmed his desire to see the roadmap - which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 - implemented directly, despite the US view that the deadline may no longer be realistic.

"From now until 2005 we have enough time to finish the negotiations and to have a Palestinian state according to President Bush's vision," Mr Qorei said. "I believe we still have time. I believe we can achieve that goal."-AFP