The US President George Bush and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair have said that the 'road map' for Middle East peace had not been abandoned.
The two leaders made the comments following a summit in Washington, amid growing disquiet about a change in US policy in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, Mr Bush endorsed a plan by the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip, while keeping others in the West Bank.
President Bush said both sides will still have to negotiate what he described as 'final status issues'.
Tony Blair has said that he sees Israel's new proposals for the Middle East as a way to get back to negotiations on the Road Map peace plan.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr Blair said he did not think the Middle East 'Road Map to Peace' had been sidelined by Washington's change in attitude towards Israeli settlements in the territory.
He also denied Palestinian claims that the process had been destroyed.
After the talks, the two leaders reaffirmed their determination to quell insurgents in Iraq, and to hand over political power to an interim government on 30 June
Tour of duty extended for 20,000 troops
Separately, the US has announced that 20,000 American troops who have already been in Iraq for a year will have their tour of duty extended by up to four months.
The 20,000 troops were due to return home this month.
However, the Commander of US forces in Iraq, General John Abazaid, has asked for them to stay on in addition to those coming to replace them.
Their tours of duty will be extended for three to four months.
Announcing the extension, US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, said, 'The country is at war and we need to do what is necessary to succeed'.
