Peres tells Obama: Netanyahu not opposed to two-state solution

WASHINGTON - President Shimon Peres hinted yesterday that Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu would sign on to a two-state solution, saying he did not hear the prime minister express himself against such a plan.

The remarks came after a 40-minute meeting between Peres and United States President Barack Obama in Washington. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Obama May 17.

"I believe Netanyahu is seeking a historic peace; I say this from conversations I have had with him," Peres said.

Peres also said he told Obama that Netanyahu would respect agreements signed by his predecessors.

"The prime minister has said specifically that he will respect the obligations of his predecessors, with everything that implies - settlements, the road map and the continuation of the peace process. He has said he does not want to rule the Palestinians," he told Haaretz.

Israel is also prepared to negotiate a peace settlement with Syria, Peres told Obama yesterday. Peres told reporters after his meeting yesterday with Obama that negotiations with both the Syrians and the Palestinians were "an opportunity that is not worth forfeiting."

"I can't say there won't be difficulties, but it would be a serious mistake not to take advantage of the opportunity," Peres said.

The Israeli president said he also spoke with the American president about the Iranian issue.

"I told [Obama] that a great change has begun, because today most of the Sunni world does not see the problem as Israel, but Iran," Peres also told reporters.

Peres said he told the president, "Iran is a threat not just to Israel, but to the whole world. As Jews, after being subjected to the Holocaust, we cannot close our eyes in light of the grave danger emerging from Iran." "If Europe had dealt seriously with Hitler at that time, the terrible Holocaust and the loss of millions of people could have been avoided," he said. "We can't help but make the comparison."

The meeting between Peres and Obama, which was scheduled for 20 minutes, stretched to 40. "At the end, the two of us spoke alone for 15 minutes," Peres said.

For the first part of the Obama-Peres meeting, National Security Adviser James L. Jones was also present, along with the White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and the head of the Middle East desk of the National Security Council, Dan Shapiro.

Peres also reported the American president said Israel's security was and would remain a top priority for the United States.

Peres said Obama told him he believed they could work together in a pragmatic and positive way.

When asked whether he thought the American administration was tending toward the Arab world at Israel's expense, Peres said, "It's not that they are for the Palestinians and we are against them."

Peres told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Israel did not oppose the Obama administration's overtures to Iran, telling Haaretz following their talks that he wished Clinton well.

"I said if you want diplomacy, I hope you succeed. Israel is not delivering ultimatums to America," he said.

"Iran will not get atomic weapons, but we cannot look just at the clock," Peres said. "Whoever wants to set a timetable on Iran is working on the assumption that the situation is frozen. The situation is constantly changing and [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad is dividing the Muslim world."

With regard to Hamas leader Khaled Meshal's interview with the New York Times published yesterday, in which the group's exiled official vowed to take part in the U.S.' solution for Middle East peace, Peres said, "I told the secretary of state that the Hamas problem now belongs to Egypt, Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas], Palestinians, basically the whole Sunni world. I told her that difference between Hamas and Fatah is not political, but fundamental."

Peres told Haaretz that he would not exaggerate and say that his talks with Clinton were "outstanding," but added: "I found no contradiction in the stance between the secretary of state and [Israel]."

Peres said Clinton asked about the internal dynamics in the new Israeli government.

"I explained to her that it was a coalition matter and that until decisions were made various voices would be heard," Peres said.