04 June 2003
Powell: Meetings Built "Degree of Trust" Between Sharon and Abbas
(Rice and Powell say real trust depends on performance) (1790)
Because of the meetings in Egypt and Jordan June 3 and 4, "a degree of
trust was built up" between Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and
Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas, Secretary of State Colin Powell told
the press in Aqaba, Jordan.
"I think they both left here believing that we have gotten off to a
good start in this new process, and they're looking forward to working
with each other, and that's a tremendous achievement of these couple
of days," said Powell, speaking June 4, along with National Security
Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
Powell added that real trust between the two sides would come from
performance, with the Palestinian leadership expected to end terrorist
activities against Israel, and Israel promising to dismantle some
settler outposts in the West Bank.
The secretary described the dismantling of settler outposts as "a good
start" which would show that Israel "is prepared to do things that
they were not prepared to do before this meeting occurred."
"[F]rankly, we have asked both sides to start doing things right
away," he said, adding that the Bush administration expects some of
the outposts to be dismantled "in the very, very near future," and
Palestinian Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan "knows that we are
expecting him to take some steps right away -- not months from now,
right away."
Powell said that, for its part, the United States will work to get a
team of monitors led by Assistant Secretary of State for
Nonproliferation John Wolf organized and in place "in the very near
future."
He said the team's focus would go beyond security and exchanging
intelligence to include an economic component "because we've got to
look just beyond security to the economic needs of the Palestinian
people and the Israel people."
Powell also praised Prime Minister Abbas' statement that the
Palestinian people need an end to terrorism.
"I have never heard coming out of previous leaders of the Palestinian
people and Authority that kind of unequivocal statement about ending
terror," he said. "He's been saying it for the last several days and I
think it was an important and powerful demonstration of his intent."
Dr. Rice also praised Prime Minister Sharon for committing to the
principle that "Israel understands that its action should not
pre-judge any questions that are there for the negotiation," in
reference to the need for a contiguous Palestinian state despite the
current presence of many Israeli settlements in the West Bank and
Gaza.
Secretary Powell added that it is the Bush administration's view that
"a contiguous state has to be a state that both sides accept and that
is viable. It can have an economy, people can move back and forth
freely. And both people feel they have achieved their objective. They
have a state that they can call their own, living in peace with
another state."
Following is the transcript of Secretary Powell and National Security
Advisor Rice speaking to the press in Aqaba, Jordan:
(begin transcript)
Remarks to the Press Pool
Secretary Colin L. Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza
Rice
King Hussein International Airport Aqaba, Jordan
June 4, 2003
Released by the White House Office of the Press Secretary
4:15 P.M. (L)
QUESTION: Did you get a sense that the two leaders trusted each other
to carry out these objectives that they announced?
SECRETARY POWELL: My sense is that a degree of trust was created
today, and they both left here understanding that what they both have
to do is perform. Only results will build on the initial level of
trust that was recreated over the last two days, and both sides left
here knowing action is required, results are required. And if they are
both are able to deliver, then I really think we have -- we are moving
forward, we have a way to move forward. And both sides will be anxious
to move forward.
DR. RICE: There was also quite a bit of interchange between members of
the two delegations, and I think that was a good thing, as well.
SECRETARY POWELL: While we were outside -- while they were outside on
the lawn, inside there were a lot of conversations going on. I sat
with the Minister of Defense and with Minister Dahlan -- and Condi
did, as well. Condi was with him for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then
I sat with him for another half hour, talking about security, let's
move forward. So I think that was very important, too.
QUESTION: Where do we go from here?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, first and foremost, we're going to get our
team in to provide a mechanism so they can talk to each other directly
and have someone in the room who can sort of make calls and monitor
progress and help them connect back to us and to other members of the
international community to get them the resources they need.
But it's beyond just security and intelligence exchange and
monitoring. There's going to be an economic component to the team
that's coming in, because we've got to look just beyond security to
the economic needs of the Palestinian people and the Israel people. So
get the team in place.
And, frankly, we have asked both sides to start doing things right
away. And Prime Minister Sharon said he would start doing things. The
outposts, we expect some of them to be dismantled in the very, very
near future. And he'll be taking other steps. They said they would be
taking more of the steps of the kind that Prime Minister Sharon
presented to me a couple of weeks ago. And Minister Dahlan knows that
we are expecting him to take some steps right away -- not months from
now, right away.
QUESTION: Does the removal of the outposts go far enough, initially?
SECRETARY POWELL: It's a start. I mean, we've got to get started. I
think it is a good start. It will show to the Palestinian people and
to the world that Israel is prepared to do things that they were not
prepared to do before this meeting occurred.
DR. RICE: And the Prime Minister also made important statements about
territorial contiguity of the Palestinian state and so forth, in a
kind of forward-leaning way.
QUESTION: What did he mean by that? And is his notion of territorial
contiguity the same as the Palestinians? Does it include bridges and
tunnels, or does it include a solid chunk of land with no pocket?
DR. RICE: A lot of these are issues for negotiation. But the important
thing is to commit to the principle that Israel understands that its
action should not pre-judge any questions that are there for the
negotiation. But we have hard negotiations ahead, obviously.
SECRETARY POWELL: A contiguous state has to be a state that both sides
accept and that is viable. It can have an economy, people can move
back and forth freely. And both people feel they have achieved their
objective. They have a state that they can call their own, living in
peace with another state.
But what it's going to look like remains to be seen. But I think we
have a pretty good understanding and they, ultimately, will make the
decision.
QUESTION: How quickly will the implementation group start? How quickly
will John Wolf get here?
SECRETARY POWELL: John will be here -- I'll have to get home and tell
him to pack his bag. He's been preparing for the last two weeks. He's
known about this for two weeks. So John is preparing himself, a team
is being organized. We've got two very competent envoys here now in
Ambassador Kurtzer, and the acting Consul General, General Jeff
Feltman. Jeff will be playing an active role with John, because
permanent Consul General is on the way out. So we're going to have a
strong team here and we'll be on the ground and operating in the very
near future. I don't want to tell you tomorrow or next week, but
certainly very soon.
QUESTION: -- of Prime Minister Abbas' statements about security? Did
he go farther than they had in the past in promising an end to
terrorism?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think he has. I have never heard coming out of
previous leaders of the Palestinian people and Authority that kind of
unequivocal statement about ending terror, not because the Americans
want us to or the Israelis want it, because we need it. The
Palestinian people need it. And he said it in Arabic and he said it
repeatedly. He's been saying it for the last several days and I think
it was an important and powerful demonstration of his intent.
QUESTION: Can he do it? Can he pull it off?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, he is committed to it. The Palestinian people
and the Palestinian legislature put him in this position to do so, and
he has got the people who can do it in Minister Dahlan. And the
international community and now the President of the United States
said we're going to help him. And Prime Minister Sharon says, I'm here
to help you too, let's get going.
DR. RICE: And the Arabs yesterday committed to helping, too, and
that's very important.
QUESTION: Could you tell us a little bit more about the atmospherics,
the mood between Sharon and Abbas in the room?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think it was good. It was a formal setting with
ministers at the table and then behind. And they both laid out their
positions rather briefly. The President led the discussion.
But I think the atmospherics, once we got rid of all of the ministers
and went outside, the atmospherics as you could see from whatever was
on the screen, was very, very good. They got down to talking as three
men committed to peace, committed to trying to find a solution. The
situation we are in now is unsustainable for any of the parties.
QUESTION: Do the prime ministers trust each other? Do you believe the
prime ministers trust each other?
SECRETARY POWELL: You know, I think a degree of trust was built up
over the last couple of days. Real trust is going to come from
performance and you'll have to ask them. But I think they both left
here believing that we have gotten off to a good start in this new
process, and they're looking forward to working with each other, and
that's a tremendous achievement of these couple of days.
DR. RICE: They spent 40 minutes together, outside alone.
QUESTION: Thank you.
DR. RICE: Thank you very much.
END 4:22 P.M. (L)
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
