Clinton Opens Direct Mideast Peace Talks

Clinton Opens Direct Mideast Peace Talks

By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton opened the first direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in nearly two years September 2, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that "only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people."

"For our part, the United States has pledged its full support for these talks, and we will be an active and sustained partner," Clinton said. "We believe ... that you can succeed. And we understand that this is in the national security interests of the United States."

"But we cannot and we will not impose a solution," Clinton added.

The negotiations opened in the ornate Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department's Washington headquarters. Netanyahu and Abbas, along with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan, dined with President Obama at the White House September 1. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is the special representative of the Quartet for Middle East Peace, which is the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States, also attended the dinner and negotiations.

Obama spoke before the White House dinner, saying that "each of you are the heirs of peacemakers who dared greatly ... statesmen who saw the world as it was but also imagined the world as it should be."

"Now, like each of them, we must ask, 'Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?'" Obama said. Before the talks began, Obama met individually with Netanyahu, Abbas, Mubarak and King Abdullah.

The president invited Mubarak and King Abdullah to attend the opening of talks because of the critical roles they have played in helping jump-start the indirect talks and in helping to reach the direct talks. "I thanked President Mubarak of Egypt and His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan, for their valuable leadership and for the support that will be necessary going forward," he said. Their continued support for the peace process is vital, Obama said, because the two-state solution is essential for their peace and the peace and security of the region and the world.

"So even as we are clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, so, too, do we see the foundation for progress," Obama said earlier in the afternoon September 1 at the White House.

In her opening remarks September 2, Clinton acknowledged how difficult the negotiations that lay ahead will be for the two sides, and that there will be obstacles and setbacks as there have been before.

"Success will take patience, persistence and leadership," she added. But she said that it is possible to resolve the core issues facing Netanyahu and Abbas within one year. The core issues to be resolved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process include determining the final borders of a Palestinian state, the future of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements in occupied areas, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, water rights, and future relations between the two states that include assurances for Israeli security.

LEADERS RESPOND

Netanyahu spoke after the secretary's opening remarks and looked across at Abbas and said, "I see in you a partner for peace. Together, we can lead our people to a historic future that can put an end to claims and to conflict."

Abbas responded in measured tones through an interpreter that "we start from here to reach a peace that will end the conflict, that will meet all the demands and start a new era between the Israeli and the Palestinian people." But both leaders in their remarks agreed with Clinton that the negotiations will be difficult and require concessions from both sides.

The negotiations follow a period of indirect, or proximity, talks that began last May, spearheaded by U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell.

After the opening session September 2, Clinton, Netanyahu and Abbas held a private meeting.

At a press briefing later, Mitchell told reporters that the two sides have agreed to hold further talks September 14-15 in the region and will continue to meet every two weeks thereafter. Mitchell added that he and Clinton will attend the next meeting.

Mitchell said that he and Clinton both met with Netanyahu and Abbas privately for an hour and a half after the opening remarks, and that the talks were long and productive, reflecting a constructive and positive mood, though he would not provide specifics of the discussions. He reminded reporters that Netanyahu and Abbas have known each other for many years in both a political and personal context.

ENDS

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