Mr Bush wants a peace deal agreed before he leaves office in 2009. The US President, George W Bush, has expressed optimism about the prospects for peace in the Middle East, ahead of this week's conference in Annapolis. Speaking before holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Washington, Mr Bush said he wanted to see "whether or not peace is possible". Mr Olmert said he hoped to open serious negotiations with the Palestinians. Mr Bush will later meet separately with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas , to prepare for the talks on Tuesday. Some 40 countries and organisations , including Saudi Arabia and Syria, have been invited to the conference at the US naval academy in Maryland. Earlier, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Washington to set out basic terms for future negotiations.