November 02, 2009
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Clinton to Egypt
On the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to clarify weekend remarks on Israel's settlement policy that caused dismay in the Arab world, Clinton has added Egypt as the final stop to her current trip to Pakistan and the Middle East.
She will meet Wednesday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Marrakesh, Morocco, where Clinton is currently attending a conference with Arab foreign ministers.
"Egypt is a key player in Middle East peace and we thought it important wihle in the region to consult with Cairo since they did not have an opportunity," Crowley said. "Egypt is playing a critical role in terms of Palestinian reconciliation. and this visit provides an opportunity for us to provide perspective based on our recent" consultations.
At a news appearance tonight with the Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi-Firhi, Clinton was asked about the reaction she had received from Arab foreign ministers to her news conference in Jerusalem which was widely perceived in the region as siding with the Israelis in pushing the Palestinians to go into peace talks without a total Israeli settlement freeze.
"None of leaders here at all characterized what I said as in any way representing a change in positions," Clinton said. "They engaged with me at length."
Clinton said she told her Arab counterparts what Israel is offering in terms of a partial nine month settlement moratorium and why Clinton characterized it as "unprecedented" in her Jerusalem news appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But, Clinton added tonight, "the position of the Obama administration has not changed. We do not believe settlements are legitimate. We have said that repeatedly, and made that clear to the Israelis, Arabs, Palestinians and to the world."
"It is important however in any kind of discussion to get the facts out on the table," Clinton added. "I think a number of my counterparts were not aware that what the Israeli government is offering would be an end to all new settlement activity in the West Bank, an end to expropriation, an end to any permits or approvals."
"It is not enough," Clinton said. "It is not what many people in the region and elsewhere would want to see, but it is fair to characterize it as unprecedented."
Clinton said that the Obama administration wanted however to praise helpful intermediate steps "that send a signal that progress is underway, progress towards a two state solution. When I say the Israeli government is making an unprecedented offer, even while it is not what many would hope for, and our position remains that settlement activity is not legitimate, nevertheless it moves us a step closer to a two state solution."
"The goal is to give the aspirations of the Palestinian people a reality, namely their own state: sovereignty and control over their future. That is my goal."
Earlier Monday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said he was satisfied with Clinton's clarification of her Jerusalem remarks, in which she did not convey Washington's dissatisfaction with Israel's continued settlement activity. Instead, Clinton praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to undertake a partial moratorium on new settlement construction and further land appropriations in the West Bank.
A State Department official said Clinton's team here had decided last night that she needed to clarify her Jerusalem remarks, because they had been misconstrued or misunderstood in the region. "We obviously were conscious to the reaction to her press conference in Jerusalem and I would call it public diplomacy," the official said, while not acknowledging that anything Clinton had said was a mistake per se. "If there are questions that are on the minds of an important audience [as the Arab foreign ministers here], we are happy to address those questions."
On Sunday, in a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart, Egyptian Foreign Minister Abul Gheit said, "It is not reasonable or acceptable to start negotiations with the continuation of settlements." The U.S. must provide "guarantees about issues of settlements, East Jerusalem and the peace efforts in general." ," Abul Gheit added. Neither Egypt nor Jordan sent foreign ministers to attend the conference in Morocco.
Clinton also said in today's news conference that she encourages Iran to accept the Tehran research reactor fuel deal as is. "I want to reiterate that this is a pivotal moment for Iran. Acceptance fully of this proposal which we have put forth and which we are unified behind would be a good indication that Iran does not wish to be isolated and does wish to cooperate with the international community and fulfill its international responsibilities. So I urge Iran to accept the agreement as proposed because we are not altering it."
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