But after the handshakes, grins and earnest speeches, Olmert took a harder line in an interview on Israeli television.
"Therefore, the idea is to establish two separate nation states living side by side. The state of Israel would of course be Jewish. A Palestinian state would be the natural location for all the Palestinian refugees where they would be settled."
Refugees and their descendants displaced in the founding of Israel in 1948 are estimated to number more than four million and the Palestinians have made their rights a central demand in talks with Israel on a peace deal.
Olmert also said the end of 2008 deadline might slip, "but you have to start somewhere. And we are committed, absolutely, to help start it".
Scepticism
Abbas, speaking after the White House send-off, said Bush seemed determined to reach a peace treaty during his term.
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Hamas was not invited to Annapolis and has said repeatedly that it would not be bound by any deals that Abbas strikes.
Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser, emphasised US efforts to isolate Hamas on Wednesday.
"We are looking for a two-state solution, not a three-state solution."
If a Palestinian state is achieved, "the Palestinians in Gaza are going to have to make a choice," he said.
On Wednesday, Israeli air and sea attacks targeting Hamas killed four people and wounded eight.
Iran was also not invited to Annapolis, and some have suggested a second agenda to the talks: rallying Arab support against Iran. |
"We found him zealous in that direction," he said.
He also said that while the agreement to resume talks was only the beginning of the process, the Palestinians "achieved what we came here for".
"We came here to start negotiations, and we got that."
But he and Olmert were to return home to much scepticism for "making peace for the cameras" as one headline in the Israeli tabloid Maariv put it.
Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, said Bush had asked Abbas for the region's reaction but neither Iran, which called the conference as "stillborn" nor demonstrations against the talks by tens of thousands of Hamas supporters in Gaza was mentioned.
The Annapolis plan did receive cautious support from the 22-member Arab League, however.
Amr Mussa, secretary-general of the league, cited "misgivings" but said: "We want to give this opportunity a chance. During the next two months we will test the Israelis' intentions to see if they are serious, or if this is just another game."