PRESIDENT BUSH: I am pleased to welcome my friend, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, back to the Oval Office. And I thank you for bringing your wife to have dinner tonight with Laura and me. I'm looking forward to it.

We've been through a lot together during our time in office. We strongly believe that Israel will benefit by having a Palestinian state, a democracy on her border that works for peace. And, Prime Minister, that vision is alive because of you. And I thank you for your steadfast¹ support for peace.

 And it's not easy. It's not easy to try to change the paradigm², and I understand that. But one thing is for certain -- you've kept your word. And in international politics, that's important. And I want to thank you for the friendship, and thank you for your vision. And I just want you to know that I believe that vision is alive and needs to be worked on.

And again, I welcome you. Appreciate you coming.

PRIME MINISTER OLMERT: Thank you very much, Mr. President. I'm delighted to have this opportunity to express again the deep gratitude³ we all have to you, personally, as a human being, as a friend, as a courageous⁴ leader who has helped Israel so much over the period since you were President of the United States of America.

I will never forget that you have removed one of the most threatening strategic dangers from Israel on the east side, in Iraq. And this is a great achievement that makes life much better for many people in our part of the world, particularly for us and for our neighbors, as well.

You have set forth⁵ in motion the Annapolis process, which I was very proud to take part in.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, sir.

PRIME MINISTER OLMERT: It continues with your guidance and support and inspiration. And this is very important, because as you say, a two-state solution is the only possible way to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

So, Mr. President, on behalf of the people of Israel, I want to thank you. The importance of your leadership is greatly appreciated in our country. And I'm sure that when the history books will be written, the contributions that you made to the safety and security of many people will be greatly appreciated.

Personally, I want to thank you for your friendship on behalf of my wife, Aliza, and myself. And I'm so happy and proud that I had an opportunity to speak of it to you before you leave this great place and before I leave my office. And I'm sure that we will continue our friendship for many years to come.

Thank you very much.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. Thank you.

参考中文翻译：

布什总统：欢迎Ehud Olmert总理回到椭圆形办公室。感谢您今晚携夫人与我和Laura共进晚餐。我非常期待。

在我们执政期间，我们共同经历了很多事情。我们坚信，以色列将会从与巴勒斯坦签订的旨在维持边境和平的生命中获益。总理，由于你的努力，和平指日可待。感谢你对和平的坚定支持！

这并不容易。我明白，要打破范例并不容易。但是有一点是肯定的——你兑现了你的诺言。在国际政治上来说，这是非常重要的。感谢你的友好，感谢你的先见之明。我想让你知道的是，我相信先见之明是有生命力的，需要我们不断实践。再一次欢迎你，感谢你的到访。

OLMERT总理：非常感谢，总统先生。非常高兴有这个机会再次表达我们对你，作为个人，作为人类，作为朋友，作为一个领导的深切感激，感谢你在美国总统任期内给了以色列这么多的帮助。

我永远不会忘记你帮助以色列消除了东部地区最大的威胁。这使得世界上一部分地区很多人的生活更加美好尤其是对我们和我们的邻国。

你将Annapolis程序付诸行动，能够加入Annapolis程序我非常自豪。

布什总统：是的，先生。

OLMERT总理：由于您的指引，支持和鼓励，这个过程还在继续。这是非常重要的，因为正像你说的，双方共同解决是解决中东地区冲突的唯一途径。

所以，总统先生，我代表以色列的人民感谢你。我们的国家深深感谢你的领导。我确信你对许多人的安全和安定所做的贡献将会被载入史书。

从个人的角度来讲，我代表我的妻子Aliza和我个人对你的友好表示感谢。我很高兴，很自豪，在你和我都离开职位之前有机会对你说这些。我相信，在今后的许多年，我们的友谊将会继续。非常感谢！

总统先生：非常感谢，先生。谢谢！

相关新闻报道：

美国和以色列领导人相信巴以能够达成和平协议

新华网华盛顿11月24日电（记者赵毅　蒋国鹏）美国总统布什和到访的以色列看守内阁总理奥尔默特24日在华盛顿说，以色列和巴勒斯坦人最终能够达成和平协议。
　　布什当天在白宫与奥尔默特举行会谈，据信这是两人在彼此任期内的最后一次正式会晤。
        会谈开始前，两国领导人对媒体发表讲话说，在他们卸任后，美以两国仍将继续努力推动中东和平进程。奥尔默特还特别强调，建立巴勒斯坦国，实现以巴两国的和平共处是实现中东和平的唯一可行之路。
　　据报道，布什和奥尔默特在会谈中除讨论巴以和谈问题外，还就国际金融危机、伊朗核问题、以色列与叙利亚的间接和谈等议题交换意。
　　奥尔默特在与布什会晤前先后与美国国务卿赖斯和副总统切尼会晤。奥尔默特的发言人雷格夫说，奥尔默特希望美国当选总统奥巴马在明年1月执政后，能够按照去年11月中东问题安纳波利斯会议所确定的目标，继续推动实现巴勒斯坦建国，并促使以巴双方达成和平协议。
        去年11月，布什在美国马里兰州主持召开中东问题安纳波利斯会议，促成奥尔默特和巴勒斯坦民族权力机构主席阿巴斯同意恢复双边和平谈判，并争取在2008年底前达成一项内容广泛的和平条约。由于巴以双方在耶路撒冷地位、边界、巴难民回归、犹太人定居点等关键问题上存在重大分歧，和谈迄今未能取得实质性进展。