WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday expressed optimism about reaching a deal to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I think we have a very, very good chance, and I certainly will devote everything within my heart and within my soul to get that deal made," said Trump before his meeting with Abbas on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York.
Abbas said the Palestinians were certain that Trump was "determined to reach real peace in the Middle East."
"This gives us the assurance and the confidence that we are on the verge of real peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis," said Abbas.
So far, Trump hadn't publicly expressed his support for a two-state solution, a longstanding U.S. stance on the issue.
In a major departure from the longtime U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump said in February that he was open to either a one-state or two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I'm looking at two-state, one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. ... I can live with either one," Trump said then at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
