As he chided Russia for backing annexation, Obama hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a bid to convince him to accept Israel’s partial annexation of the occupied West Bank. Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are trying to obtain a framework agreement between Israel and the PA before a deadline of next month. It’s widely believed Kerry’s plan endorses Israeli goals of holding on to Israeli settlement blocs and other valuable land. Obama said both sides will have to compromise on the path to peace.

President Obama: “As I said to Prime Minister Netanyahu when he was here just a couple of weeks ago, I believe that now is the time for not just the leaders of both sides, but also the peoples of both sides, to embrace this opportunity for peace. But we’re going to have a lot of details that we’re going to have to discuss. It’s very hard. It’s very challenging. We’re going to have to take some tough political decisions and risks if we’re able to move it forward. And my hope is, is that we can continue to see progress in the coming days and weeks.”

Abbas is also being asked to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a demand Palestinian critics have rejected on the grounds they’d be legitimizing their own expulsion. As he met with Obama in Washington, thousands of Palestinians rallied in Ramallah calling on Abbas to resist pressure to abandon basic Palestinian rights.