Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush over the Mideast peace process failed to make any progress, local press reported Friday.

Abbas is pessimistic about the prospects of achieving any deal with Israel this year, the Associated Press said after an interview with the Palestinian leader.

The biggest obstacle is Israel's continued expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian-occupied territories, Abbas said.

"This is the biggest blight" on efforts to reach an agreement between the Palestinians and Israel before Bush leaves office in January 2009, Abbas was quoted as saying.

Bush had talks with Abbas at the White House Thursday, five months after he sponsored an international summit in Annapolis, Maryland, to revive the stalled peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2008)