Statements
Made During Secretary of State Warren Christopher's Trip To The Middle
East
February, 1993
Joint statements made in Cairo on February 18 by Secretary Christopher
and Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.
Foreign Minister Moussa: I wish to welcome the Secretary of State
and Mrs. Christopher on their first visit to Egypt and to the Middle East.
We look forward to the consultations and talks with the secretary, exchanging
views, and coordinating our activities in order to push forward the peace
process and ensure a smooth and successful resumption of the talks. The
presence of the secretary of state of the United States here today and
tomorrow will give us an opportunity to exchange views about a lot of issues
of mutual concern. I welcome again the secretary and give him the floor.
Secretary Christopher: Thank you very much, Mr. Foreign Minister.
It is no coincidence that President Clinton chose to send me to Egypt as
the first stop on my first journey outside the United States as secretary
of state. Egypt's ancient society has made an enormous contribution to
modern life, and Egypt plays a pivotal role in this region. Today, President
Clinton and I are proud to count Egypt as a close and important friend
of the United States. After a gap of fourteen years since my meeting with
President Sadat in 1979, I want to tell all the people of Egypt how pleased
my wife, Marie, and I are to be back in your country.
I have undertaken this trip to the Middle East to personally underscore
and demonstrate the commitment of President Clinton and the United States
to reenergizing the Middle East peace process. We believe that there are
important opportunities that the parties should not miss. We have come
to the region ready to do our part, and we will be assessing whether the
other states and parties here are prepared to do theirs. I will be spending
the next week or so personally meeting with the leaders of countries of
this region, trying to obtain their views on how best to move the peace
process forward.
The issues I have come to discuss here are certainly difficult and will
demand the close cooperation of all the parties involved. Egypt plays an
invaluable leadership role in the search for peace and in helping the parties
to understand each other and their positions. In achieving its peace treaty
with Israel, Egypt has proven that commitment and diplomacy can work to
the betterment of all.
We look forward to seeing and learning more about this great country,
and, we look forward to productive meetings over the next several days.
Opening statements made at a news conference held by Secretary Christopher
and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on February 19.
President Mubarak: I had a very good meeting with the secretary,
and we discussed lots of issues - mainly the Middle East problem - and
I am sure, after I had these talks with the secretary, that the United
States is committed to peace and is giving great attention[to] the peace
process to move forward. We are very eager, and we are willing to help,
because peace in this area is very important, and it is very precious -
which I said several times - to have any kind of concessions.
I [received] an invitation from President Clinton [to visit the U.S.],
and I accepted it; and a visit will take place in the first ten days in
April. I find it a very good opportunity to exchange views with the president
and to see what could be done in the peace process so as to move forward.
We are very keen for the peace process to continue and the negotiations
to start as soon as possible. We discussed, also, the problem of the Palestinian
deportees, and we are working so as to resolve and solve this problem so
as not to hinder the negotiations for the peace process. Thank you.
Secretary Christopher: Thank you, Mr. President. First, let me
say how honored I was to be received by President Mubarak today and to
have a chance to have a wide-ranging discussion with him and to have luncheon
with him and his colleagues. I also greatly enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion
with Foreign Minister Moussa. On behalf of President Clinton, I was pleased
to extend an invitation to visit the United States to visit with President
Clinton, and I am very pleased that President Mubarak has accepted that
invitation. As I said yesterday, President Clinton and President Mubarak
have already been working together, and I am sure that his meeting in the
first part of April will enable them to deepen their relationship and provide
further leadership for the peace process and many other aspects of world
peace and order.
The United States and Egypt share a common interest in promoting peace
and tackling the broader problems of regional instability. We have today
agreed, as the president said, to intensify our joint efforts to re-energize
the peace process, to encourage the partners to return to negotiations,
and to ensure that these negotiations are fruitful and produce results.
We have also agreed that we would work together to achieve an early
resumption of the next round of talks. I will be leaving here tonight for
Amman Jordan, and other capitals in the region. As I go there, I will be
personally conveying President Clinton's commitment, as I did here today,
to moving the peace process forward. I leave here knowing that President
Mubarak and Foreign Minister Mousa will be working with the parties to
promote our common agenda for peace in the region. Mr. President, thank
you ever so much for your warm hospitality. I have greatly enjoyed my visit
here to Egypt and especially with you, sir.
Joint remarks made by Secretary Christopher and Jordanian foreign
Minister Kamel Abu Jaber in Amman on February 19.
Foreign Minister Abu Jaber: Ladies and Gentleman, I am
very pleased to welcome you, sir, to Jordan, as well as your accompanying
delegation. Your visit at this particular moment illustrates the depths
of U.S. commitment to the cause of peace in this region. It also provides
us with the opportunity to discuss with you our bilateral relations and
to explore the way to further strengthen peace. I we look forward to our
talks seeking how best to advance and accelerate the peace process ant
to ensure its success, currently facing serious threats. It is our hope,
sir, that your offer will bring about the viable solution that we all seek.
Mr. Christopher, I would like to reiterate, on this occasion, Jordan's
firm commitment to the process that was launched in Madrid with the aim
of achieving Israeli conflicts on the basis of UN Security Council Resolutions
242 and 338 and especially in the efforts leading to Madrid as well as
all the rounds of both bilateral and multilateral negotiations.
However, sir, since Madrid, the tension in the region has not subsided,
with the level of Israeli violence in the occupied territories increasing
- the current Palestinian deportees problem being demonstrative. We will
listen attentively to your assessment of the situation in the whole region,
and we will share with you our views regarding the need for a comprehensive
peace that will enhance regional security, that will enhance democratization,
that will enhance human rights, and that also will end the suffering of
all the people in this part of the world.
Once again, sir, I welcome you and Mrs. Christopher as well as your
accompanying delegation. I wish you all a pleasant and productive stay
in Jordan. Thank you.
Secretary Christopher: Mr. Foreign Minister, thank you very much
for that warm and thoughtful welcome. It is a great pleasure to be in Amman
tonight as I go about my process of trying to reactivate the peace process.
President Clinton has sent me to this region - as you recognized and acknowledged,
Mr. Foreign Minister - as a sign of his commitment to the cause of Middle
East peace. He said - and I want to reiterate this upon my arrival here
in Jordan - that the United States is prepared to be a full partner in
pursuit of that cause, provided that the other parties share our determination
to resume the negotiations and to promote peace. We will do our part if
they do theirs. I look forward to my discussions with you, Mr. Foreign
Minister, and with King Hussein, Knowing the critical role that Jordan
has played in connection with the Madrid launching of the peace negotiations
and in carrying them forward. I am interested in hearing the King's views
and yours on what Jordan and the United States can do together to re-energize
the peace negotiations. Of course, also we will be discussing a wide range
of other issues of mutual interest - regional issues, local issues, and
global issues. In particular, I look forward to discussing the King's commitment
to democratic values and to a broadened political participation, a commitment
that we very much applaud.
Mr. Foreign Minister, Jordan is a long-time and valued friend of the
United States, and I look forward to discussing ways that we can strengthen
and improve that long-standing friendship. Thank you so much for greeting
me tonight, Mr. Foreign Minister, and I look forward to a good day with
you tomorrow. Thank you.
Opening statements made at a news conference held in Amman on February
20 by Secretary Christopher and King Hussein of Jordan.
King Hussein: Mr. Secretary, ladies, and gentlemen, it is a very
great pleasure for us to welcome Secretary and Mrs. Christopher and the
accompanying delegation here in Amman. I do so on behalf of the government
and the people of Jordan and Queen Noor. It is a wonderful opportunity
for us to re-establish contact and to welcome an old and dear friend to
this country again. We are, indeed, hopeful and encouraged by the genuine
desire to [inaudible] which we know we have and we hope that our friends
have in the United States to renew and reinvigorate the friendship of many,
many years between our two countries and nations and certainly in my case
- one that has prevailed over the last four decades based on trust, a feeling
of partnership, mutual respect, and a desire to cooperate in all fields
and areas.
Mr. Secretary, your visit at this time has given me the opportunity,
together with my colleagues, to discuss with you once again frankly and
openly and to hear from you views, ideas, and concerns at this critical
juncture in the life of this area and this region. And it has been a pleasure
for me to restate our total commitment to the cause of a just and durable
peace that future generations can enjoy, live with, and protect in the
region. I would like to say that the United States, without a doubt, is
the most powerful nation in the world today. And I feel greatly encouraged
at this point in time with President Clinton and the new administration
assuming their responsibilities; and, hopefully, it will be far greater
in terms of its impact on the world - on our large global village - when
it can, hopefully, in the times ahead put together its physical and material
strengths, together with principles and ideals on which the United States
was founded, which had such an impact on our world and which, hopefully,
again will be the case in the times ahead.
I thank you, and I will leave it to you, sir, to make any comment you
would make, and then we will take it from there and see what we will face
from our friends (members of the media). Thank you very, very much. And
you are most welcome.
I thank you, and I will leave it to you, sir, to make any comment you
would make, and then we will take it from here and see what we will face
from our friends (members of the media). Thank you very, very much. And
you are most welcome.
Secretary Christopher: Your Majesty, ladies, and gentlemen, this
morning I had very good and wide-ranging meetings here with His Majesty,
the King, and with the prime minister and with the foreign minister. We
have discussed a number of issues: the peace process, our bilateral relations,
and regional issues, and we discussed at some length, and with great pleasure
on my part, the progress of his Majesty's government toward democratization
and broader political participation - subjects in which I found great interest
as I have moved around the country.
President Clinton sent me to this region to convey personally his strong
commitment to play a full partnership role in the peace progress, to re-energizing
and reactivating that process, and to assess the commitments of the parties
in this region to that important process. I am here to encourage the resumption
of the negotiations, particularly because I think all of the countries
in this region are committed to positive results in the long run.
I would like the people of Jordan to know - and, of course, I have told
His Majesty, the King, with as much emphasis as I could summon - that the
United States intends to play an active, full partnership role in this
process to help the parties to the maximum extent to achieve an important
result for this region.
I am very pleased to have heard from His Majesty, the King, an important
commitment to the peace process in which Jordan has played such an important
role. No country was more important. I believe, in the Madrid conference,
and no country has made more progress - or, indeed, as much progress -
as Jordan has in the bilateral and multilateral negotiations. We look forward
with great anticipation to working closely with His Majesty to seek a comprehensive,
just, and lasting peace based upon UN Security Council Resolutions 242
and 338. I will be leaving here for Damascus tonight. I do want the government
here to know - and particularly His Majesty, the King -that we will stay
in close touch, contacting him after I have completed my rounds or earlier
if that should serve the process of peace. Thank you very much.
Joint remarks made by Secretary Christopher and Foreign Minister
Shara in Damascus on February 20.
Secretary Christopher: I am very pleased to be here in this great
and venerable city of Damascus. I look very much forward to meeting with
President Asad and Foreign Minister Shara` to discuss the Middle East peace
process and a number of bilateral and regional issues. I have come here
to convey, personally, President Clinton's strong commitment to working
as a full partner in trying to reactivate the peace process. We are in
the region to encourage the parties to return to negotiations and to ensure
that the negotiations produce results.
The United States remains determined to help the parties to achieve
a just and lasting solution based upon UN Security Council Resolutions
242 and 338. We are quite prepared to do our part as sponsors of these
bilateral and multilateral negotiations provided that the parties do their
part .We look forward to working with the parties to sustain their strong
commitment to meaningful negotiations so that the progress can be made
in a very timely manner.
In recent years ,the United States and Syria have worked together to
advance the peace process and regional security. We anticipate that this
cooperation will continue and we look forward to it. Syria 's agreement
to attend the Madrid peace conference was essential to launching it.
We are very pleased that Syria joined with us and other nations in reversing
Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. Syria and Israel have already engaged
substantially on core issues in the peace process, and we look forward
to their continuing this progress.
To repeat my ambitions for tomorrow, I look forward to our discussions
with both President Asad and For Minister Shara`. I thank the foreign minister
and his wife for welcoming me and my wife, Marie, and our delegation to
Syria.
Foreign Minister Shara`: Just a few words to welcome Secretary
Christopher and Mrs. Christopher in Damascus. I hope that his visit will
be a success. We and the United States and the other parties concerned
hope to be able to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region
and to remove the obstacles standing in the way. We hope that the discussion
tomorrow between Secretary Christopher and His Excellency President Asad
will prove to be positive and constructive and to help in implementing
all UN Security Council resolutions. That is, the deportees issue as an
obstacle so far. We hope that all the deportees will be able to go back
home, and that the parties concerned will be able to resume the bilateral
peace talks as soon as possible.
Opening remarks from a news conference held in Damascus on February
21 by Secretary Christopher and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-shara`
Foreign Minister Shara`: Let me say in brief that the discussions
which Minister Christopher had with President Asad were positive and fruitful,
and I can describe them as good discussions. The topics and the issues
which were discussed - probably you are aware of - is the peace process
and how and when to resume the peace talks and the obstacles that stand
in resuming the peace talks, mainly the deportees issue. The bilateral
issues between the United States of America and Syria have been discussed,
all of the regional situation, in general. I will give it to Secretary
Christopher to describe his talks with His Excellency, President Sad.
Secretary Christopher: As the foreign minister has said, we had
very good and productive discussions today with President Asad . Earlier,
I had bilateral discussion with the foreign minister. Our discussions were
quite wide-ranging. We had a candid and useful exchange on bilateral and
regional issues. The principal focus of our discussion, however, was on
reactivating the Middle East peace process Syria has played and continues
to play a central role in that process, and it must do so if they are to
be successful. We talked about the desirability of an early resumption
of the negotiations and the need to make substantive progress. To that
end, I conveyed to President Asad President Clinton's commitment to have
the United States play the role of a full partner in the negotiating process.
Of course, to be able to play that role, the parties must return to the
negotiations soon.
President Asad emphasized his commitment to the process of direct negotiations
that were launched at Madrid, and he welcomed the U.S. role as a full partner
in the process. Also, and very importantly, I think President Asad agreed
that the negotiations should be recommenced soon.
My discussions with President Sad have been very useful to me in gaining
a fuller understanding and assessing the key substantive issues involved
in the negotiations. Frankly, I can say that I have been encouraged by
our substantive discussions. From here, I will travel tonight to Saudi
Arabia, where I will continue my discussions on the peace process and will
again address regional and bilateral issues.
I look forward to ongoing contact with both President Asad and Foreign
Minister Shara` and will continue to work to try to invigorate the peace
process.
Excerpts from joint statements made in Riyad on February 21 by secretary
Christopher and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faysal.
Secretary Christopher: I am pleased to be in Saudi Arabia on
the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, a very special and important time
when Muslims all over the world reflect on events which occurred not very
far from here some 1,400 years ago. I am very much looking forward to my
meeting with King Fahd and Foreign Minister Saud. It will be an important
and very pleasant time for me, I am sure.
The United States has a close and cooperative relationship with Saudi
Arabia, and my visit here abroad as secretary of state underscores that
close relationship. Our shared commitment was demonstrated most recently
in our shoulder-to-shoulder defense of peace and security intervention
in the Persian Gulf during our successful Desert Shield and Desert Storm
operations. President Clinton's commitment to the security of friends in
the Gulf, like that of every president since Franklin Roosevelt is firm
and constant.
I also want to convey personally President Clinton's commitment to our
being a full partner in re-energizing the peace negotiations. We will be
asking the Saudis to help us in efforts to establish an early resumption
of the negotiations and to take other steps to promote peace.
We are gratified by the continuing participation of Saudi Arabia in
the multilateral peace process and the working groups. These are very important,
as they complement the bilateral process.
Thank you very much, Mr. Foreign Minister, for welcoming me, my wife
Marie and our delegation. I am very pleased to be here with old friends.
I notice that Ambassador Prince Bandar is here, as well. We look forward
to a good discussion, but most of all, I look forward to the opportunity
to reaffirm old ties and a shared commitment.
Foreign Minister Saud: I would like to welcome the secretary
to our country, as an old friend and not only to renew our acquaintance
but also to continue the fruitful endeavors between our two countries in
many areas that he touched upon, whether it regards peace in the region
or the stability of the region. I hope that the secretary will himself
touch the strong relations that bind our two peoples.
We look forward to his discussions. He will meet this evening with the
Custodian of the Two Mosques of Medina and Mecca, and we look forward to
a very fruitful discussion. We also appreciate the fact that the secretary
has taken his first trip abroad to the region, and this indicates to us
further commitment of the United States to the pursuit of peace in the
region.
Joint remarks by Secretary of State Christopher and Kuwaiti Foreign
Minister Shaykh Sabah, February 22, 1993.
Secretary Christopher: Good morning. Mr. Minister, thank you
very much for your warn welcome. Two years ago almost to the day, American
soldiers liberated this airport, sealing the commitment of the United States
to Kuwait's independence and security.
President Clinton sent me here on my first trip outside of the United
States to reaffirm that commitment to the people of Kuwait, to our other
friends in the gulf, and to any who might be tempted again to pose a threat
in this region.
I want to take this occasion to stress the importance that the Clinton
administration attaches to the full implementation of all the UN Security
Council resolutions relating to Kuwait as well as the measures enacted
to monitor and enforce those resolutions.
No one should doubt the resolve of the United States to see that the
will of the United Nations is carried out and carried out fully and completely.
Let me be clear about these matters. We bear no ill will to the suffering
people of Iraq. We seek no military confrontation, but the pain inflicted
on the Iraqi people is the responsibility of Saddam Hussein's regime, not
the international community.
Saddam Hussein's regime is well is well aware of what it must do to
meet the requirements of the United Nations, including the requirement
that it end the repression of the Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein must know
that there is no substitute for full compliance. In this regard I want
to affirm that we will no forget the hundreds of Kuwaitis and others who
remain unaccounted for in defiance of UN requirements.
No one who has witnessed the vivid scenes of devastation perpetrated
on Kuwait by the Saddam Hussein regime could fail to be impressed by the
remarkable progress which has been made since the liberation. And those
who have stood side by side with Kuwait in rolling back Saddam's aggression
will welcome the restoration of Kuwait's active parliamentary system. We
hope to see further steps in this direction of democratization. On behalf
of President Clinton, let me say how glad I am to have an opportunity to
come here and to underscore in person the president's commitment to our
continued obligations with respect to security and stability in the region.
Our friends can rest assured that the United States will be with them
in the future as we have been the past. As long as the people of this region
are subject to the threat of aggression, our friends can rely on the steadfast
vigilance of the United States. Thank you very much, Mr. Minister, again
for welcoming me here. I am very pleased to be here for a stay that is
much too short but, nevertheless, is meaningful to me. Thank you, Mr. Minister.
Foreign Minister Shaykh Sabah: I am pleased to welcome his Excellency,
Warren Christopher, the foreign minister of the United States. I am pleased
as well to praise, on his occasion, the excellent relations binding two
friendly countries and to laud the stand of both president Clinton and
the U.S. administration that supports the Kuwaiti just causes and that
truly reflects the extent of the US awareness of its role and its international
responsibilities and the respect of the principles of justice and right.
We should keep in mind the respect of the great role that the United States
has played and still plays with all peace loving countries in the world
to establish peace and stability in the world. There is no doubt that this
tour by His Excellency in the Middle East represents the true and constructive
role of the United States as a great power and its belief in its obligations
toward defending international peace and security.
This visit comes while our area still is suffering the consequences
of the brutal Iraqi aggression as a result of Iraqi regime reluctance and
obstinacy in implementing the UN Security Council resolutions related to
its aggression to the state of Kuwait. In particular ,those related to
the Kuwaiti POWs and detainees and to the repeated violations by that regime
to the inviolability of the international Kuwait borders and to [that regime's]
continuance of false claims against Kuwait.
This visit is considered a good opportunity to have consultations about
the current situation in the Gulf area, due to the common faith that the
security in this area is an integral part of the security and stability
in accordance with international resolutions and is an important and vital
factor in the peace making process in the world. We are looking to have
fruitful relations with the visiting delegation, just aiming at serving
the interests of our two friendly countries and enforcing the international
position and its solidarity in standing against the Iraqi regime, which
in its continuity in power represents a deviation from the simplest international
norms and regulations and a direct threat to the international peace and
security.
Below is the text of joint remarks made in Jerusalem by Secretary
of State Warren Christopher and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres,
February 22, 1993.
Foreign Minister Peres: Secretary Christopher, I would like to
welcome you here in our country as a cherished guest, representing a mission
of the utmost importance for us, for the region, for peace. We know that
you are representing an administration that has raised the hopes of the
whole of the free world, that has started renew the process of peace, and
we do hope that is the first step in the renewal of the peace negotiations
- something that we are awaiting anxiously, with great expectation. We
welcome you here with great respect, hope, and friendship, You know how
dear the relations between the United States and Israel are to all of us,
and I am sure that you will represent it with great devotion and talent.
Welcome to Israel.
Secretary Christopher: Thank you Mr. Foreign Minister. It is
a great honor to be welcomed by the distinguished foreign minister who
has a worldwide reputation as a person who has sought peace for most of
his adult life and someone who has respect in my country. Thank you ever
so much for the honor you have served me by being out to welcome me.
It is a great pleasure to visit Israel on my first trip abroad as secretary
of state. I have much to learn about this ancient land and this modern
state, I hope to use this opportunity to begin to know and see Israel and
its people. I want to gain a better understanding of the challenges and
opportunities that you face. As I arrive in Israel this evening, there
are several things about Which President Clinton and I are very certain.
First, the relationship between the United States and Israel is a special
relationship for special reasons. It is based upon shared interests, shared
values, and shared commitment to democratic, pluralism, and respect for
the individual. The ties between our two countries have proved strong and
resilient, and President Clinton is determined to make them even stronger
and more resilient.
Second, I know that to understand Israel - Israel's present and its
future - it is essential to understand Israel's past. History has cast
a long shadow over the people of this Jewish state. The Israeli people
have had to fight war and terrorism to defend the state. I understand this
struggle for survival. That is why the United States in unalterably committed
to Israel's security. That commitment will not change.
Third, real security can only be brought about by real peace, but we
also know that peace won't be possible unless Israel is fully secure. The
Israeli people want peace - not just peace meaning the absence of war,
but peace reflected in lasting treaties, normalized relationships, and
real reconciliation.
It is with this in mind that president Clinton has sent me to this region
to assess, to consult, and to focus the parties - all the parties - on
the importance of resuming negotiations at the very earliest date. So I
am very much looking forward to my meetings with prime Minister Rabin,
with Foreign Minister Peres, and later with the Palestinians.
As in the period Before Madrid, and now with the help of the United
States as a full partner, the parties can build on the substance of structure
of real peace through direct negotiations. Working together, the United
States, Israel, and the Arab and the Palestinian negotiating parties can
turn this process into one of real breakthroughs and achievements rather
than missed opportunities.
Excerpts from opening statements at a joint news conference in Jerusalem
by Secretary Christopher and Israeli Minister Rabin on February 24.
Prime Minister Rabin: the Secretary of state of the United States, his colleagues, ladies and gentlemen of the media. We more than appreciate the decision of President Clinton and the Secretary of State to have the first visit of the Secretary of state after President Clinton took the office of the President of the United States to come to the Middle East with the purpose to bring about the resumption of the peace negotiations.
I believe that the visit of the secretary of State, the discussions,
the talks that were held now in Israel, no doubt will serve as a landmark
in the relationship to bring their resumption. I believe that during the
visit of the Secretary of State here in Israel, I had the opportunity and
the pleasure to have talks, deep to the issues, and I hope that.. we succeeded
to establish special relations - relations of friendship, understanding
and [candor].
I believe that in the talks that were held here, we discussed a variety
of issues; first and foremost, what has to be done to bring about the resumption
of the peace negotiation, how to make sure that once they will be resumed,
they lead in 1993 to results - results that I believe all the peoples,
all the countries of this peace between Israel and its neighboring countries
and the Palestinians.
I hope and I believe that the visit of the secretary of state, not only
to Israel but also to the other capitals of the Arab countries that are
directly involved in the peace negotiations…will create a new atmosphere
in the region ,an atmosphere that will be conducive to bring about more
meaningful peace negotiations. We have discussed at length the special
relations between the United States and Israel ,and there is no doubt in
my mind that these relations will be developed and strengthened in the
interest of the two countries. And no doubt, this development will bring
about and will facilitate many things that we, together try to achieve
in this region.
Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for your patience, your readiness
to listen, to travel, to see. I believe that we put on you quite a burden
of work during the two days that you stayed in Israel. Allow me through
you to send my thanks and congratulation to President Clinton about his
decision to give such a high priority to solve the difficulties that prevented
until now the achievement of the peace negotiations. Thank you very much.
Mr. Secretary.
Secretary Christopher: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for those
very warm words, I have just concluded the last of my meetings here in
Jerusalem, and let me say I have tremendously enjoyed my stay here. The
detailed discussions that I have had with the prime minister, the foreign
minister, and their colleagues were serious and productive and very helpful
to me. I have had three separate meetings with the prime minister, and
he and his wife were gracious enough to host me and my delegation last
night for dinner. And all in all, it was a splendid time for me.
Over these last three days, we have strengthened and deepened the special
relationship between our two nations. On a personal note, as the prime
minister so generously said, I am pleased that we have developed a close
and personal relationship. I know that President Clinton is looking forward
to greeting Prime Minister Rabin in Washington in the very near future
and looking forward to that development of a similar relationship. The
relationship that the prime minister and I have established in symbolic
of the friendship between our two nations - a friendship that is based
upon deep and enduring interests shared values and common interests. My
stay here was all too short, but it did give me an opportunity to learn
just a little bit about the rich history of this ancient land and to feel
a sense of the dynamism of the modern, vibrant democracy.
In my visit to Yad Vashem, I was reminded again of the extraordinary
uniqueness of the Jewish state. And this morning in my visit to northern
Israel, I was again reminded that the Jewish state continues to face very
substantial security challenges. It is high time for Israel to be able
to enjoy the acceptance of its neighbors in the security that comes from
having a just and lasting peace. I know that the people of Israel yearn
for that day, and I know that the Israeli government is doing all that
it can to achieve it.
After visiting with the leaders of the significant parties to the negotiations,
I have a very real sense that all the parties want the negotiations to
succeed. They want them to resume and succeed at an early date, and they
agree that they should redouble their efforts to that end. I have also
had in the last two days serious and thoughtful discussions with the Palestinians.
The Palestinian representatives with whom I spoke emphasized their commitment
to seek peace with Israel, and they expressed their understanding of the
stake that they have in seeking that peace. I leave the Middle East hopeful
but cognizant that there still are obstacles - obstacles that will have
to be overcome. But I sense among all the parties that they want to seek
and make peace. If that translates into an early resumption of the peace
talks, as I hope it will, the United States stands ready to be a full partner.
Before I left Washington, I said that I was coming to the region to learn,
to find the facts, to get to know the leaders in this area. I have accomplished
far more in that sense than I had expected, and I have had substantive
discussions far deeper than I had anticipated.
This is a region that has known too much war and too much violence in
its past. The parties are at a historic crossroad. This is an opportunity
which I hope all the parties will embrace, and we will do our part to help
them in that regard. Thank you very much.