Bush adviser downplays role of joint statement at conference - Haaretz

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Sat., December 01, 2007 Kislev 21, 5768

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		U.S. President George W. Bush speaking to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley looks on during a UN meeting in New York last month. (Reuters)

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Last update - 17:26 26/11/2007

Bush adviser downplays role of joint statement at conference

By Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid and Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies

Tags: Syria, Stephen Hadley

U.S. National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, said on Sunday that a joint Israeli and Palestinian declaration at the Annapolis conference was not as important as it might have seemed when it was first broached.

As Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams scrambled on Sunday to formulate the statement to present at the summit, Hadley said, "The two sides took the unexpected step of seeking negotiations, and the declaration no longer needed to serve as a vehicle to prod them to do so."

"If we get something, if they can agree on some things as an input to the negotiations, that would be fine," Hadley said. "But I think it is really no longer on the critical path to a successful conference."

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Palestinian negotiators Ahmed Qureia and Saeb Erekat met with Livni, Israel's lead negotiator, for unscheduled talks Sunday evening. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch also met with Palestinian negotiators Sunday in an attempt to reach a breakthrough, a member of the Palestinian delegation said.

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W Bush said Sunday that the upcoming Middle East peace conference offers all sides a chance to "redouble their efforts" of achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Bush said that the conference in Annapolis, Maryland on Tuesday would offer a strong show of international support for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to restart peace talks and renew their commitment to the U.S.-backed road map towards an independent Palestinian state.

"I call upon all those gathering in Annapolis this week to redouble their efforts to turn dreams of peace into reality," Bush said in a statement. "I remain personally committed to implementing my vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."

Bush will meet separately at the White House Monday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and also plans to address Tuesday's gathering in Annapolis.

Bush adviser Hadley said earlier Sunday that "it is now time for the parties to get into this process by way of negotiation", referring to the speech Bush is expected to present at the summit.

In a briefing to the press Sunday, Hadley said that "the President will probably decide that it is not the time for him to put out specific ideas on how to resolve any of these particular issues" - namely borders, Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem.

Two days before the summit, Hadley repeated the messages that the Bush administration has been voicing for several weeks. He emphasized the role of the road map for peace in the process, and said that "the focus of these discussions are the Israelis and the Palestinians launching a negotiating process, supporting them in their efforts to implement the road map, which we still think is the critical path for achieving peace, and, in parallel, building Palestinian institutions and making sure there's international support for that."

Hadley promised that the U.S. will "be a witness and, in some sense, to facilitate the efforts" by the sides to implement the roadmap.

Addressing a Syrian announcement earlier Sunday that the country would send a delegation to the conference, Hadley said that "the Golan Heights specifically is not on the agenda," echoing the position of both Israelis and Palestinians. However, he said, "there will be an opportunity for people to talk about" a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace process.

Israel welcomed Syria's announcement, but stressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be the main focus of the meeting.

Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Olmert, said Sunday "Israel sees in a positive way the high-ranking participation of Syria in a conference which is clearly about the Israeli-Palestinian track, but could open additional avenues to peace in the Middle East."

Government sources in Damascus said earlier in the day that Syria would send Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad to the summit this week.

Syria had conditioned its participation in the summit on the inclusion of the future of the Golan Heights on the summit's agenda.

Syria's Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said Foreign Minister Walid Moallem had other commitments and Mekdad was more than qualified to represent Syria.

Bilal told Al-Jazeera TV that Damascus decided to attend to discuss the Palestinian issue, Israel's withdrawal from the Golan and the possibility of the resumption of the peace process. He did not elaborate.

In remarks to reporters made just after landing in Washington on Sunday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the future of the Golan Heights could come up in Annapolis negotiations.

Livni told reporters on the plane taking Olmert to Washington that, although the Golan was not formally on the agenda, participants could raise "whatever issues they want" in a forum due to discuss "comprehensive peace in the Middle East".

"As a result of the inclusion of this phrase, I believe Syria ... decided to attend the conference," Livni said.

Speaking about the importance of wide Arab participation, including Syria and Saudi Arabia, Livni added: "There isn't a single Palestinian who can reach an agreement with Israel without the support of the Arab world. This is one of the lessons we learned seven years ago."

"I think there will be a joint document ... this is the statement that will launch the (peace) process, not solve (the conflict)."

But Livni made clear that peace negotiations with the Palestinians after the summit would follow only a bilateral track: "The Arab world is not supposed to define the terms of the negotiations, nor be involved in them."

Commenting on prospects for a joint Israeli-Palestinian statement ahead of the conference, she said: "I think there will be a joint document ... this is the statement that will launch the (peace) process, not solve (the conflict)." The United States wants the conference to relaunch talks about creating a Palestinian state but Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have struggled to agree on a joint document ahead of the meeting.

The Bush administration decided to invite Syria to the Annapolis conference due to the Israel Air Force September strike on what foreign media have termed a Syrian nuclear facility, American officials said.

Related articles:

Rice says two-state solution in Middle East in jeopardy

Rice tells FM Livni: Summit must focus on two-state solution

IDF lifts censorship of Sept. 6 IAF strike on target inside Syria

U.S. inviting Syria to summit due to air strike

Official Annapolis conference Web site

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