US President George W Bush has said the Middle East peace summit which opens in Maryland this afternoon is aimed at opening talks, not concluding an agreement.
As regional leaders gathered for the conference, Mr Bush said a battle was under way for the future of the Middle East.
Diplomats and representatives from more than 40 countries and international organisations are attending the conference in Annapolis, including the Palestinian and Israeli leaders, as well as senior Syrian and Saudi Arabian delegates.
However Hamas has denounced the conference and thousands of its supporters demonstrated in Gaza City earlier to reject the US-backed event.
After being accused of neglecting the peace process and inadvertantly promoting extremism, Mr Bush insisted that now is the 'right time' for peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
Mr Bush admitting that the road would be difficult, but said the key to peace was an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state.
'Achieving this goal is not going to be easy. If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago,' Mr Bush said with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at his side.
Mr Abbas stressed the need for 'comprehensive and deep' negotiations to start immediately.
The US President had already met the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the Oval Office yesterday and urged them to make the difficult compromises needed.
The Palestinian president said he had 'a great deal of hope' that the conference would produce expanded negotiations over all the so-called permanent status issues.
However Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insisted there could be no deal unless the Palestinians halted attacks on Israel from Gaza.
Russia is prepared to host a follow-up meeting, which features in the US proposals.
The arrangement proposed to the Arab countries is said to include a similar conference in Moscow in January which would include the role of Syria and Lebanon in the peace process.
The US is also proposing the creation of a committee to oversee future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
A Palestinian member of Hamas died late yesterday in an Israeli air attack in the north of Gaza.
Israeli military sources said the attack targeted two Palestinians who were attempting to place explosives near the border fence.
