12 May 2003
U.S. Committed to Working for Peace, Powell Tells Abbas
(May 11 Powell-Abbas joint press conference) (3090)
"Momentum for reform and peace is building," Secretary of State Colin
Powell said May 11, after meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas.
At a joint press conference held in the West Bank city of Jericho,
Powell congratulated Abbas on his confirmation as the Palestinians'
first prime minister and pledged U.S. commitment to pursue President
Bush's two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Opening the press conference, Abbas confirmed Palestinian willingness
to use the U.S. proposed-roadmap as a means of pursuing a credible
political process to ending the conflict. "We also renew our rejection
of violence irrespective of its perpetrator," he said.
Powell noted the challenge of ending a conflict "that has brought such
suffering and grief to this region for most of our lifetimes" is
formidable but that, with leadership and courage among both
Palestinians and Israelis, he believed there is hope.
"Your acceptance of the roadmap," he told Abbas, "signifies your
determination not to lose this opportunity for a better future, and I
look forward to working with both sides, Palestinian and Israeli, and
with our Quartet partners (Russia, the United Nations and the European
Union) on the roadmap and in achieving full implementation of the
president's vision."
"As I have urged you to move quickly and decisively to dismantle the
terrorist infrastructure which has destroyed lives and aspirations, I
have underscored to (Israeli) Prime Minister Sharon and his government
the need for Israel to do its part in improving the daily lives of
Palestinians and show respect for their dignity," Powell said.
"The United States will play its part too, and I am pleased to
announce today that we will be providing an additional $50 million to
assist in rebuilding roads, creating jobs, helping small businesses
and furthering the reform process that is already under way," Powell
told reporters in Jericho May 11.
Asked by a reporter whether the content of the roadmap will be
negotiated further, Powell said, "I think it's important not to get so
hung up on a particular word or a particular statement that we lose
the opportunity to get started, to get going."
The secretary will be consulting with leaders in the Middle East and
Europe through May 16.
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Jerusalem)
May 11, 2003
JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
And Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
Oasis Intercontinental Hotel, Jericho
May 11, 2003
PRIME MINISTER ABBAS: [In Arabic]: Good afternoon. Mr. Secretary,
ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you and your delegation, and extend
our appreciation to the effort that President Bush and yourself are
exerting to advance the peace process in our region and our country -
a serious peace process that will lead to an end to the Israeli
occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,
living side by side with Israel along the June 4, 1967 lines.
We also welcome President Bush's May 9 speech in which he reiterated
his commitment to work personally to achieve peace in the Middle East.
We assure the American people of our desire to develop the bilateral
relations between our two governments and our two peoples. Our
discussions today were deep, serious and permeated with a positive
spirit. We look forward to an active and engaged role for the U.S.
Government on the roadmap, which was originally an American proposal
endorsed by the Quartet and accepted by the Palestinian leadership.
We believe that there is a real opportunity to launch a credible
political process between us, and we view as necessary that the
Israeli government agree to this plan so we can begin a peace process
together. But the roadmap should not be dealt with in a selective or
piecemeal fashion. We have seen in the past what became of previous
plans for this reason. Accordingly, as the Palestinian leadership and
government remain committed to honest, good-faith implementation its
obligations, we expect the Israeli side to do the same.
In this context, we are committed to what we pledged in front of the
Palestinian Legislative Council in terms of the oneness of the
Authority in all its aspects and tool, the rule of law and political
pluralism within a democratic framework. We are also ready to make the
statement required from us in the roadmap, on the same day and at the
same hour and minute that Prime Minister Sharon issues the statement
required from Israel by the roadmap.
We expect the Quartet, and particularly you, Mr. Secretary, to
establish an effective monitoring and verification system to guarantee
the balanced and accurate implementation of the roadmap in the
political, security and other spheres.
We look forward to a complete halt to settlement activity, an end to
the siege, the separation wall, assassinations, collective punishment,
destruction of agricultural products and of infrastructure, limits on
the movements of Palestinian citizens and institutions, and the
release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. We also demand that
Chairman Yasser Arafat be guaranteed freedom of movement, and that all
measures harming him cease.
We presented you a letter today, Mr. Secretary, from prisoners'
families. We urge you to give it the consideration it merits, because
this issue represents a constant concern to our people and nation.
My dear friend, I am speaking with you today while our people aspire
to the minimum of what peoples of the world enjoy: living in freedom
and independence without occupation or settlements or infringements of
our national dignity or our right to build a future as we see fit.
This will lay the ground for the establishment of real peace in the
whole region in line with the Arab peace initiative, adopted by the
Arab summit and according to which all shall enjoy security, stability
and good-neighborliness.
As President Bush said two days ago, freedom is the road to peace. I
add my voice to President Bush's, hoping that his words come true: "We
have reached a moment of tremendous promise, and the United States
will seize this moment for the sake of peace." Thank you, Mr.
Secretary.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, for your
warm welcome. I very much enjoyed my meeting this afternoon with you
and with the members of your cabinet. My congratulations to them as
well.
Mr. Prime Minister, your selection and confirmation as the
Palestinians' first prime minister have created a momentous
opportunity for allowing peace to take root where so many have been
convinced that it could not - or should not - do so. No one should
underestimate the challenges ahead, but neither should we
underestimate the power of hope and courageous leadership. Your people
and the world look to you to provide both. You have my
congratulations, my best wishes and my promise that the United States
is committed to ending the conflict that has brought such suffering
and grief to this region for most of our lifetimes. And you have
President Bush's commitment as well.
That commitment is embodied in the speech President Bush delivered on
June 24 of last year and in the roadmap that I have come to discuss
with you and with the Israelis. President Bush feels strongly that a
historic moment has come for this entire region. Momentum for reform
and peace is building. The Palestinian Authority has already taken
some important and encouraging steps in this direction. Your
acceptance of the roadmap signifies your determination not to lose
this opportunity for a better future, and I look forward to working
with both sides, Palestinian and Israeli, and with our Quartet
partners on the roadmap and in achieving full implementation of the
president's vision.
The promise of a Palestinian state rings hollow, though, while so many
are suffering. We cannot give in to despair and, just as I have urged
you to move quickly and decisively to dismantle the terrorist
infrastructure which has destroyed lives and aspirations, I have
underscored to Prime Minister Sharon and his government the need for
Israel to do its part in improving the daily lives of Palestinians and
show respect for their dignity. The United States will play its part
too, and I am pleased to announce today that we will be providing an
additional $50 million to assist in rebuilding roads, creating jobs,
helping small businesses and furthering the reform process that is
already underway.
Back home today in the United States, Americans are celebrating
Mother's Day. If mothers and fathers in this land are to tell their
children a different story - one of two states living side by side in
peace - it's time for us to get down to work, starting today. I extend
my hand to Prime Minister Abbas and to the Palestinian people as
together we begin drafting a new and better story for our children and
for our grandchildren to hear. Thank you so very much, Mr. Prime
Minister, for your welcome and for your hospitality.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, as you approached the Middle East just a day
or so ago, you said there's enough agreement on the roadmap on both
sides to get started. Now that you've talked to both sides, do you
find them ready to start implementing the agreement?
SECRETARY POWELL: Yes. I've had extensive talks with both sides now on
the roadmap, and I believe that there is sufficient agreement on the
provisions within the roadmap so that we can get started. Obviously
there are still comments to be received from the Israeli side and we
look forward to analyzing those, and the two sides need to talk to
each other. But I believe that there is sufficient goodwill,
sufficient commitment that we can get started, and, as I have said,
let's get started now. Let's not waste another day, let's not waste
another discussion session - let's get on with the actions required.
The Israeli Government earlier today indicated to me some action that
they would be taking immediately, and the prime minister and I
discussed some of the actions that he is planning to take. So I'm
pleased that both sides are committed to action, and let's get going.
QUESTION: [In Arabic]: Mr. Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, you had an
important meeting today, I imagine, with the American Secretary of
State, Colin Powell. Did you find or feel that Secretary Powell's
discussions with the head of the Israeli Government yielded anything?
Did you feel that Israeli Prime Minister has agreed to the roadmap or
that he will wait until the 20th of this month and his meeting with
American President George Bush? Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER ABBAS: [In Arabic]: Though the discussions we held
together today, we noted the American determination to achieve peace
in the Middle East and achieving President Bush's vision which he
announced on June 24 last year, and also what he spoke of in his
speech in the last few days. And I think that the American side, by
what it has said and also with the members of the Quartet, is
determined to continue with this matter to the end because everyone
believed that the opportunity of this roadmap must not be missed.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, how are you going to get out of this cycle of
the Israelis saying they're not going to give any substantial
concessions until there's an end to the violence, and the Palestinians
calling above all for concessions first from the Israelis?
SECRETARY POWELL: Let's not talk about concessions, let's talk about
steps that both sides can take to move forward. The Israeli side
indicated to me a number of steps that they are prepared to take and
are starting to take now to show their commitment to the process of
moving forward and within the context of the roadmap.
And the prime minister has made it clear to me today that he
understands the importance of ending terrorism and ending the
activities of those organizations committed to terrorism. And as we
have seen so often in recent years, it is absolutely the case that we
have to do something about terrorism and at the same time we have to
take steps on the Israeli side that give hope to the Palestinian
people and ease their lives and make it possible to get to their
workplaces and for them to begin to live normal lives and for their
children to do so. So both sides are taking steps.
If these steps do not lead to progress, then we will be back into the
same cycle of despair that we are trying to break out of now. But I
believe this time things are different, that we now have a new prime
minister with a new cabinet that is committed to the president's
vision and to moving forward with practical steps. We have an Israeli
Government that is firmly in place and has years to go on its current
term so that it too can take positive actions to move forward. We have
a changed strategic situation, in that one of the threats to Israel
that was part of the background noise - the regime of Saddam Hussein
is gone and the United States has demonstrated its willingness to
engage more fully in the peace process. And we have a roadmap that
gives us a way forward, and the United States is committed to that
roadmap. And so I think the strategic environment in which we are
trying to achieve peace has changed, and I hope that the steps that
the two sides are now not only willing to take but are in fact taking
will move us in the right direction.
QUESTION: [In Arabic]: Mr. Prime Minister, (inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER ABBAS: [In Arabic]: I don't think it is in our
interests to think of any selectivity or division or segmentation of
the roadmap. The roadmap has been put forward by the American side, as
I said, in agreement with the Quartet, and therefore they are
responsible for it. And we have accepted it as is. We may have some
reservations about it but for the sake of the peace process we have
set aside all reservations from our side and declared our acceptance
of it as it is. Thus we view the roadmap must remain as it was put
forward, in the interests of its proper implementation.
QUESTION: Mr. Prime Minister, can you tell us specifically what you
plan to do in dealing with the extremists? Do you plan to negotiate
with them or do you plan to detain and disarm them? And secondly, you
ask for U.S. help in monitoring. Did the United States offer you any
specific assistance on monitoring?
PRIME MINISTER ABBAS: On the second part of the question, on
monitoring, there is now part of the monitoring present on the ground
and work can be started to complete the total monitoring mechanism
that will capable of evaluating and judging what is going on the
ground. We have accepted what is present now so it will be completed
in the future. On the subject of security, we have clarified more than
once, and in the Legislative Council we stated the view that there is
one Authority, and one law, and that Authority and law are the ones
that must be dealt with, and not be outside that Authority or that
law. And we said that there is political pluralism that democracy
calls for and which permits any person or party or group to express
its opinion democratically in the way we see. That is the policy of
the government we have formed and that the Legislative Council has
given its vote of confidence to.
QUESTION: That doesn't answer my question.
PRIME MINISTER ABBAS: [In Arabic]: I believe I responded to what was
asked.
QUESTION: Mr. Powell, in the last weeks we've heard all kind of
commitments from the American officials that the roadmap will not be
opened to negotiations. Now you're talking about discussing it with
both sides, you're talking about waiting to receive comments from the
Israelis, you're talking about talks between both sides, which
actually means that it's open for negotiations. Is it true or not? [In
Arabic]: Brother Abu Mazen, the visit of Mr. Powell has included a
boycott of Chairman Arafat. Mr. Powell confirmed that the boycott of
Chairman Arafat will continue. How do you think this will affect
progress in the peace process and the implementation of the roadmap?
SECRETARY POWELL: On the first question, with President Bush and the
American Government and I believe that the roadmap achieves a vision
that he laid out in his speech of 24 June of last year. And so we're
committed to the roadmap. But it is a document that both sides have to
review and look at, and if one side says they wish to discuss it and
have comments about it, that doesn't change it, it means they wish to
present comments with respect to it - comments that will be considered
by the Quartet and I'm sure by the other side.
It's important that the two sides as soon as possible begin talking to
one another, and through their dialogue find ways to work through
difficulties that one side or the other might see with regard to the
roadmap. But we haven't changed the roadmap since it was finalized
last December. And I think it's important not to get so hung up on a
particular word or a particular statement that we lose the opportunity
to get started, to get going.
There will be more than enough time in the future to discuss some of
the more contentious issues that will have to be dealt with. But right
now, let's get started, and I think both sides have demonstrated a
commitment to get started and are taking steps on the road to
progress. And let's not get distracted from what we are able to do now
by debates about particular items that can be debated at a later time.
PRIME MINISTER ABBAS: [In Arabic]: We have spoken more than once about
the freedom of Chairman Yasser Arafat and permitting him to move
around internally and abroad to any place he wishes. And because he is
the elected, legitimate and internationally recognized president of
our nation. And I do not believe that boycotting him is in any way
defensible. And we will urge the parties that undertake this not to do
so for the sake of the situation.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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