AMMAN (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II said he has sensed positive signs from both Israel and the Palestinians about advancing their stalled peace process, in an interview published on Tuesday.

"I have sensed seriousness and great concern from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to drive the peace process towards a conclusion," the king told the state-run Petra news agency.

"We also heard from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that there would be an opportunity to realise real achievements including a two-state solution before the end of US President Bush's term."

On Sunday, Olmert said Israel and the Palestinians could hammer out a peace agreement before Bush leaves the White House in January 2009.

"If we act decisively together, we and the Palestinians, there is a chance for us to reach real achievements, maybe even before the end of President Bush's term," Olmert said in a speech before the Saban Forum in Jerusalem.

Israel and the Palestinians have been engaged in intensive talks in an effort to draft a joint statement outlining a solution to the decades-old conflict ahead of a US-sponsored peace meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, expected later this month.

"These are positive signs that we hope will be followed by more measures to make the upcoming meeting a success," said the king, whose country is a key US ally.

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, has repeatedly called for a clear agenda for the meeting, embracing core issues between Israel and the Palestinians, including Jerusalem and the fate of refugees.

BACK