Standing before delegations that included some of their sceptical Arab neighbours, Olmert and Abbas sealed their pledge with an awkward handshake as Bush looked on, smiling stiffly.
But the Arab presence itself, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, gave an obvious boost to Bush's most serious peace drive since he took office in 2001.
As for the United States, another motivation for many participants was the desire to offset the growing regional influence of Iran, an outspoken opponent of peace efforts with the Jewish state.
LEGACY BOOST?
Bush also hopes for a foreign policy success to polish his legacy, but the unpopular war in Iraq, the main factor in his low public approval ratings, could limit his room to manoeuvre.
Olmert's public standing is also low, partly due to last year's Lebanon war, and rightist coalition partners have warned against concessions. Abbas lost control of Gaza to Hamas Islamists in June and only holds sway in the West Bank.
The Annapolis accord emerged from last-minute talks on a joint document meant to chart the course for negotiating the toughest "final status" issues of the conflict -- Jerusalem, borders, security and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
"No one believes that failure is an option," Rice said.
Both sides agreed to give a U.S. general the power to judge whether Israel was freezing settlement activity and whether Palestinians were reining in militants as demanded by a long-dormant U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.
But beyond accepting a framework for peace talks, neither Olmert nor Abbas gave any sign of ceding ground on their main differences when they addressed the conference.
And Olmert later hinted the timetable may not be as firm as Bush might hope. Asked if the sides could clinch a deal in only a year, Olmert told the PBS television program "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer": "I don't know. I said I will make every possible effort."
Underscoring the challenges ahead, a senior official of Hamas declared Annapolis a "waste of time."
