By Wafa Amr

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday he would urge a new U.S. administration to make peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians a priority.

"If we assume we do not reach an agreement (under the current administration), we urge the new U.S. administration to immediately follow up the peace process and treat it as a priority," Abbas said during a news conference in Ramallah.

Palestinian officials said Abbas would meet U.S. President George W. Bush on Sept. 26 in Washington to review the peace process and urge his administration not to blame either side if they fail to reach a deal by the end of 2008 -- the target date set last November at the U.S.-backed Annapolis peace conference.

"We will talk to President Bush about where we have reached in our negotiations with the Israelis and point out the areas of agreement and disagreement," he said.

He also reiterated his objection to any interim agreements that did not cover all core issues, including the status of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements, borders and security arrangements.

"We are not seeking an interim agreement or an agreement that doesn't include the core issues," he said.

"We either achieve a comprehensive agreement or nothing. We are working on this basis. Can we achieve this before the end of this year? This requires great effort and we will continue our effort, but we cannot say we can certainly achieve such an agreement by the end of this year," Abbas said.

Palestinian negotiators have said the sides would continue the talks until Bush leaves office and until a new Israeli prime minister is chosen.

Ehud Olmert, embroiled in a series of corruption scandals, has pledged to quit as premier once his centrist Kadima party elects a new leader on Sept. 17.

Olmert could stay as caretaker prime minister for weeks or months after formally resigning until a new government is formed or a general election is held. (Writing by Wafa Amr; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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