WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush will meet Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas at the White House on September 25, the White House announced Friday.

    Bush "looks forward to discussing with President Abbas the progress made toward building Palestinian institutions and toward realizing the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.

    Prior to the meeting, Abbas will attend the general debate of the UN General Assembly scheduled for Sept. 23.

    Under the auspices of Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas revived their peace talks in September 2007 after a seven-year suspension. The two sides seta goal of reaching a final peace accord by the end of 2008.

    However, little tangible progress has since been achieved, leading to lowering expectations for the two neighbors to realize the ambitious goal.

    "So far, there are no signs to reach an agreement by the end of the year," Abbas said of the Palestine-Israel peace talks about two weeks ago.