Obama: Peace won't be easier under Netanyahu, but just as necessary

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday called the status quo of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict unsustainable, but said he was optimistic that the peace process was moving in "the right direction."

When asked by reporters at his second White House news conference whether a right-wing government led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign minister-designate Avigdor Lieberman would make peacemaking more difficult, Obamas responded:

"It's not easier than it was but I think that it's just as necessary. We don't know yet how the Israeli government will look like and the future leadership of the Palestinians," he said.

It was the only foreign policy issue raised in the nearly hour-long news conference. Remarkably, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were never raised and no one mentioned Pakistan, which is at the center of U.S. efforts against al-Qaida terrorism.

"What we know is that the status quo is unsustainable. It's critical for us to advance the two state solution where they live side by side in peace and security," Obama told reporters.

"We're not going to have a peace at the Middle East right away," he added. "What I'm confident about is that we're moving in the right direction."

Obama mentioned that he had appointed former Senator George Mitchell as his special envoy for Mideast peace talks and that this demonstrated the administration's determination to press ahead regardless of the obstacles.

"By appointing George Mitchell we signaled that we're going to be serious from day one," the president said. "How effective these negotiations will be we will wait and see. I'm a big believer in persistence."

Mitchell is expected to return to the region in a further effort to get peace talks under way shortly after the Israeli government is fully in place in April.

	U.S. President Barack Obama
	Photo by: (Reuters)