For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 23, 2003
WH Press Corps Interviews Senior Administration Official
The West Wing
10:40 A.M. EDT
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Okay, what do you want to
talk about? (Laughter.) No.
We issued a statement earlier today, that is to say, Secretary
Powell and Dr. Rice. It pretty much speaks for itself. I
don't have any introductory remarks. You all know this issue very
well, and a number of you have been writing about in the last couple
days. So I'd just basically take some questions.
Q How are you going to address their concerns fully
and seriously, as it says in the statement?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, if you look at the road
map, it is basically an adoption of a set of principles that
basically reflect from the President's speech of June 24, 2002, that
the outcome -- at the end of the day, a final status
negotiation to resolve all of the outstanding issues; that on the
way we want a state with provisional -- a Palestinian state with
provisional borders; that the way to get at this is through a series
of phases; and that we need to have concrete steps that the parties
take -- Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, and in some sense, us, as well.
And that envisions, where we are now is having the parties
having accepted the basic principles, a framework, the notion of
phases, and the notion of the concrete steps that are set out,
we're in this wonderful position of now being able to get on with it
and start implementing those steps.
Now, as you implement steps, questions are going to arise --
there's a host of details that will have to be worked out. And in the
contents of working out those details, obviously, we will take
into account the concerns and reservations of the parties -- the
Israelis, certainly, as expressed in comments they provided to us,
and the Palestinians, as they have concerns as we go forward with
implementation. So it will be taken in normal course, as you would,
through implementing the concrete steps that are in the road map. But
this is good news.
Q Can you clarify, though? The statement doesn't say
the Israelis have told us they accept the road map. I mean it's
incredibly vague. So has that been conveyed to you that they will
-- that you're going to publicly say they're on board, the
Palestinians are on board, and now we have to work out the details?
Because you're not really saying that there.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There is a Reuters report that
says:
"Prime Minister Sharon said on Friday in Israel he was ready
to accept an international road map for peace with the Palestinians,
and the plan would be presented to the Cabinet for approval."
Q But in your view, has he accepted it?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: "The Prime Minister says that
the state of Israel is ready to accept the steps which are outlined in
the road map, and it will be presented for the government for
approval."
And when he presents it for approval, and when it is approved --
as we expect it will be -- he will have basically accepted what's in
that road map and the steps laid out. And we will proceed to the
implementation of those steps.
Q I have a couple of quick follow-ups.
Q Go ahead.
Q You want to go?
Q No, go ahead, Barry.
Q All right, a couple of quick follow-ups. I traveled
with Powell. And Powell's take on this is, the concern is get start on
the road map. Well, that's what you've accomplished. And we
can take up the concerns with the other party. In other words, you two
work it out.
Okay, he's not saying we're not going to be interested. He frames
it in terms of, this is what negotiations are about. Work it out. The
two of you get together and talk about your concerns. So when you
say, their concerns will be taken into account, does that mean the
U.S. will try to address the concerns? Or some combination of
the U.S. and -- in a negotiating format?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: This is going to have to all --
go forward over time. The President's made clear that he thinks
there's an opportunity to make progress on the Middle East, that he's
prepared to be engaged. The United States is prepared to be engaged.
Obviously, there's going to have to be -- and we want to have direct
negotiations between the parties, direct discussion from the parties
-- but obviously, we're going to try and facilitate that process.
Q By addressing concerns?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There are all kinds of concerns
and issues that will have to be addressed by the parties. And
we will participate in that process as you implement the steps set out
in the road map.
Q Would acceptance by the Cabinet be a reason to move on to
a face-to-face meeting, such as the one that's been discussed
on the President's upcoming trip?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Again, as I just said, we are
going to try and seize the opportunity that we think is here. And the
President said he wants the United States to be intensively engaged to
try and bring this process forward. There are going to be a
lot of meetings and discussions in a lot of forums and a lot of
configurations because one of the things we've said is, it's not just
the parties. The various states in the region -- Arab states in the
region have a role to play. So there are going to be a lot of
discussions in a variety of configurations as required in order to
bring this process along. So, sure, there are going --
Q But that would be a significant discussion, now, if
the President were to meet with Sharon and Abbas.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: At some point he may do that.
But they're all going to be significant. This is an opportunity now
to take the President's June 24th speech and the specific steps in the
road map and really make some progress into moving towards the vision
that the President set out. And what you're hearing from both
parties -- and I think what you'll hear from states in the
region is everybody is prepared to go forward on that basis and
try and seize this opportunity. This is good news.
Q The administration had always said if you implemented the
road map and you got the two parties talking to each other that, of
course, they could work out these reservations that Israel had. The
administration's position a week ago when Israel was saying, but,
but, but, was the road map. Why was it so important -- obviously
this was negotiated: you had issued a statement, Prime Minister Sharon
would do what he is doing today. Can you explain a little bit
about their politics, if you will, their reasons why they needed
this clear statement saying the United States viewed their concerns
as legitimate before they would go forward with what they're doing?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think one of the things
that -- the road map was always intended to be simply a tool for
helping the parties move forward on the basis of the vision of the
June 24th speech. It was really to facilitate the implementation.
And I think it got to the point where the issue of the acceptance of
the road map and this question about whether the road map was going
to be changed or not was getting in the way of moving forward to
implement the President's June 24th statement.
And I think what this has done -- the statement that we will --
that now is not the time for negotiations to the road map, now is the
time for implementation of the road map. And that in that
implementation, we will take into account the concerns that have been
raised by the Israelis, and maybe raised by Powell's teams -- was the
device for getting everyone to be comfortable with the notion that
the road map now is not an object of negotiation, which it was never
intended to be. It is basically a road map of steps. And now is the
time to get on with the steps.
And it allowed, really, the Palestinians to go forward on that
basis. And this will allow the Israelis to go forward on this basis.
Q But might the Palestinians now see that the house is open
for bidding, that the road map is now open for change?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It isn't open for change.
That's the whole point. The road map now has been accepted as a basis
for action to go forward to make the concrete steps.
I'll give you an example. One of the things in phase two of the
road map is a Palestinian state with provisional borders. Now,
obviously, the Palestinians are going to have concerns about that
state. Is it going to be an economically and politically viable
state? And the Israelis are going to have concerns about that
state, whether it really will be democratic and be an ally in the
war against terror or a source of terror.
Well, those are things that, as the road map says, those
concerns will have to be addressed in the context in phase two, when
we get there, of negotiating the basis under which that interim state
would come forward. That's what the road map says that will
happen. So my only point is, as you implement the steps in the
road map, there are going to be a lot of issues that will need to
be resolved. And in resolving those issues, surprise, surprise, the
concerns of the parties are going to be taken into account.
Q But if I may, aren't some of the concerns so fundamental
that they raise the survival of the road map, the
sequential versus simultaneous?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, they aren't. They aren't.
And that's the thing that's interesting about this. The parties
basically have accepted the principles, the end state. We're going to
try to have a final resolution. There will be a Palestinian state
with provisional borders. We will have to get there in phases.
They've accepted the steps that are set out in the phases. That's
really, basically, agreed.
I think there aren't those kinds of fundamental objections. And
what we have heard really is concerns that some of the things in the
road map are really going to be paid attention to, that when we say
that progress will be performance-based, that people will really be
held to the things they've been asked to do in the road map, and
expression -- as you would expect from the parties -- of how they see
some of the later phases sorting out.
Well, those are all considerations that will be taken into
account when we get to those phases. So I think the point is, the
good news here is that the parties really have accepted the basic
principles, the basic framework, and the steps and are prepared to get
on moving to implement the steps.
Q How would you characterize Israel's main concerns -- that
you have today stated that you'll address? Can you be a little
bit more specific about how they relate to the settlements issue and
the right of return?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We're really not going to get
into that, get into details. I'm not going to start sort of going
through the concerns. I can characterize them, I think, in
this general way. Obviously, Israel is very concerned that the
reform process that goes forward, that is underway in the
Palestinian community continues. And they're obviously concerned
that, as the road map calls for, the Palestinian --
responsible Palestinian officials are prepared to fight terror.
And if you look at the road map in phase one, those things, which
is a public document, are all addressed. There's a program for
continuing the process of democratic reform in the Palestinian areas,
and there is a clear commitment to the things that Palestinian
authorities need to do to fight terror.
So I think a lot of the concerns, in a way -- and on the
Palestinian side, as I said before, the concern is, is Israel really,
at the end of the day, willing to accept a Palestinian state
that is politically and economically viable? And there is in the
road map a process of how you can get to that end state.
So I think a lot of it is anxiety, that, in fact, what the
President said will really occur, that everybody has responsibilities
as set out in the President's June 24th speech and then
operationalized in the road map, and that everybody is going to be
held to account to undertake and carry out those
responsibilities, and that progress is going to be
performance-based. It's really only going to occur if people
actually do what they signed on --
I think that's the underlying anxiety of whether it's really going
to be that kind of process, which is the process that the President set
out in his June 24th speech. And our answer is that it will.
Q All the examples you gave, and you gave both side's
concerns, do not, indeed, strike at the fundamentals of the road
map. Are you confident -- that as you work your way through this
road map, you won't have basic problems? I can give you examples,
and we all know what they are -- removal of settlements. You
talk about removal of outposts, establishing a Palestinian state.
Since it can't be established up in the air, it has to be established
on the ground where Israeli settlements are. Or at least it won't
be viable or it won't be accepted. So do these concerns -- you
know what I'm trying to say? Don't these concerns ultimately
strike at the heart of the --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't think so. Are there a
lot of ways this could go off the rails? Of course. But we're not
riding on an empty -- I can't believe everybody wrote that down.
(Laughter.) Big mistake. (Laughter.) Sorry. Sorry.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: In the headlines --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sorry about that. (Laughter.)
The outlines of this are pretty well sketched out. You've got to
go back, read the President's June 24th speech. There's a set of
principles, a set of propositions, a set of -- a vision and a set of
steps. The road map is an elaboration on that.
What you heard from both parties -- the Palestinians said it
and Sharon said it -- he accepts the June 24th speech. The road
map was an implementation plan for operationalizing that speech and
setting out in more detail the concrete steps that need to be taken.
Effectively now, both parties have agreed to go forward on the
basis of those steps. A lot here -- the framework for going
forward, I think, and the way ahead, is agreed. And that's what we're
going to pursue. Now there are a lot of issues that are going to
have to be sorted out. But again, a number of them have already
been set out, in terms of sequence. The road map talks about
dismantlement of outposts, it talks about a settlement freeze. But
it also makes clear that the ultimate disposition of settlements is
a final status issue and the time when you talk about final borders.
So are there likely to be issues that need to be resolved in
the implementation of that vision? Yes. But that's a pretty good
framework about how to go forward and begin to get progress on these --
Q Can you explain --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And that frame has been --
framework has been accepted.
Q Can you explain performance-based? I think it might mean
step X or -- 14th step has to be taken in good faith before we move
on to 15th step. Or does it mean accountability? What does
performance-based mean to the U.S.? I know the phrase is used all the
time, but I'm not sure I know what it means.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It's pretty clear. I mean,
the President said it. The parties need to do what -- and take the
steps that he set out in his June 24th --
Q And that they've accepted.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And that are in the road map
and that are the basis on which they've agreed to go forward, that is
to say --
Q It is conditional then? If A doesn't -- if one party
doesn't do it, the other party can't be obliged to do this?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: If you look again at the speech
and the road map, it's a series of steps and in each phase what the
parties are expected to do. And I think the question is, you're
really going to make progress to the end state. If and when,
and we think they will, the parties perform the steps in the -- that
have been set out in the speeches and the road map, because I
think the other thing that people have to recognize is there seems
to be a willingness to try and -- there is a desire to try and see if
we can get on the road to peace.
That's something that we share, that's something that I think
it's pretty clear from the statements they made that the
Israelis and Palestinians share, and certainly the countries in the
region do. I think they all agree this is a real opportunity. And I
think what you're seeing is willingness of the parties to try and seize
that.
Q Do the steps in the beginning need to be simultaneous? Or
do the Palestinians need to stop the violence before Israel
makes any concessions?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: If you look at the structure of
the speech and the road map, it basically says -- I think it's
better looked at, as the President said, everyone has obligations and
everybody needs to move forward on their obligations. And there
are subsets, there are phases. And it's clear in each phase what
various the parties are expected to do. And they've got to make some
progress on that, obviously, if we're going to be able to finish a
phase and move to the next.
Q Well, Secretary Powell said this morning that Prime
Minister Abbas had a plan to improve security, but that he needed help
and that he'd acknowledged he needed help. What kind of help is he
asking for?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think there are a
couple things, I think, that can be done to help. One is there is a
lot of work to do to rebuild and strengthen the security services if
they're going to be able to deal with the very real terrorist
problem that they face. That's something that we can help on and
other countries in the region can help on.
I think the other thing that will be helpful is the kind of
statement that the Prime Minister made today and hopefully an
affirmative vote that would come out of the Israeli cabinet, which
would make clear that the Israeli government does formally accept
the vision set out in the President's speech and is willing to
move forward on the basis of the steps that are set out in the road
map to implement it. I think that will help Prime Minister Abbas --
Q Any physical U.S. presence, though -- physical U.S. presence
as part of this help -- troops, observers, training?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, that all can be worked out
in the course of it. There has been patterns of cooperation from time
to time between the Israelis and Palestinians in the past. We have
supported that effort in the past. The '96-'97 period is a good
example. And this is the kind of thing that we would be prepared to
work out with the parties going forward.
Q What happens next? If you can -- I mean, you know the
rumors that are flying, a summit in Sharm el-Sheik, the President
is going to Riyadh, they are going to bring the Saudis into the
discussions. What can you tell us about the next couple of weeks
in terms of what -- assuming that the Cabinet approves it, as you
said, over the weekend, what's the next step for the U.S.? Is the
President planning to sit down with these two --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We're kind of taking this step
by step. If we get an affirmative vote in the cabinet, obviously,
we're going to need think forward about how to go forward.
Obviously, we're in a period of what will probably be fairly active
diplomacy and probably fairly active interchanges between the
Palestinians and the Israelis.
Q Who from the U.S. side, though? Is the President
considering an envoy, or will Powell be the main point person here?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: All those things are going to
be sorted out as we go forward. It's one of those things that the
kind of process we're in, you can't have a script. You can't have
a, sort of, four-week plan of meetings and exchanges and the like.
You're going to have to work it out as you go.
But I think the point is, we're in a, quote, "period of
active engagement". Obviously Secretary Powell is going to be
involved. Powell's the President's Secretary of State. It's
something that the President has made clear that he is -- he is
committed to, and he supports. And obviously, Condi's going to
continue to play the role that she's played, working very closely with
Secretary Powell in moving the President's agenda here. So, I
think you'll see an active U.S. presence. In terms of specific
meetings, decisions really haven't been made at this point.
Q You keep mentioning regional leaders, too, that they are
going to play a key role in all of this. Who are you talking
about? And what are you expecting them to do?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Again, if you go back to
the President's speech, if you go back to the road map, it talks about
the need for Arab states in the region to do a number of things if
this process is going to be successful. They need to support the
Palestinians as they reform, and build the institution for a
Palestinian state. They have an obligation, as again, set out in
the President's speech and in the road map, to support the fight
against terror, not to support terrorists, not to finance them.
That's talked about in both the speech and in the road map.
And in the end of the day, as also set out in both of those
documents to make clear that Israel has a right to live in peace with
its neighbors in the Middle East.
So, again, those documents all set out, clearly, what are both
the obligations of the regional states. This is also an opportunity
for them because they obviously would love to find a way to
resolve this longstanding problem between Palestinians and
Israelis. I think they all view it that it is in their
interest. And this is both -- this is an opportunity for them to be
involved in that process and to assist with it.
Q Can I follow up on something Campbell just asked? Last
week, American officials and Secretary Powell were saying
there was an expectation of career actions, of steps by Israel that
would occur before his arrival here on Tuesday. And now that that has
been put off, what can you tell us about these -- the timing in the
next week or two about these concrete steps by Israel that were
expected by now?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: These were steps he thought
that would be done between his trip and prior to Prime Minister
Sharon coming here, is that where you're going?
Q Well, there was discussion about easing the condition
of Palestinians living in the West Bank, referring to check points,
things like that. Others -- there was lots of talk from Secretary
Powell when he was in the region that Israel would soon -- had
announced some steps, and would announce some in the next
several days. And they seem to have disappeared. Can we expect that
there will be such steps now that this new milestone has been reached?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I would, certainly -- if you,
again, if you look at the President's speech and then you go to phase
one of the road map, there are a list of steps that the Israelis were
asked to take as part of that that deal directly with those kinds
of issues. And those would be the kinds of steps that, again, as
the parties move into the implementation, that we would expect them to
take.
Q I'm sorry to keep pressing you, but is there not
an expectation, for instance, that some of these would be taken,
lets say, before the end -- before President Bush returns on his trip?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't think -- there is
an opportunity. But I don't think -- look, where we are at this
point today is where we are in terms of the U.S. statement, the
Israeli statement, and in the prospect of a vote in the Knesset. That,
we think, is going to open the door to a variety of steps.
There are going to be steps that, hopefully, the Palestinians
can begin to take to crack down on terror. That, of course, opens the
door to a series of steps that the Israelis may be able to take to
ease closures and the like. That's exactly the kind of process we
are hoping that we could move toward. And again, it's the kind of
process, quite frankly, that is called for in the President's speech,
and then is given more detail in terms of phase one of the road map.
Q Can I just ask a question about this statement from
the Palestinian point of view, and from the point of view of the
Arab world? It will look to many people like a lopsided statement,
a statement that shows much more concern, or shares Israeli
concerns, but not Palestinian ones. Can you explain the calculation
behind putting out a statement which explicitly shows the concerns
of the Israelis, but shows no regard, or shows no faith?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, if you had been listening
to what I have been saying -- which you have -- I have been very
careful to say, there are concerns on the Israeli side that have been
expressed, that we will take into account as we move forward in
terms of implementation. And I've also said, similarly, as we move
into implementation, there may be concerns on the Palestinian side.
And we would similarly give them full and serious consideration.
The reason the statement is structured the way it is, is because
the Israelis have actually given us a formal set of concerns.
Remember, when the President released the road map, he invited both
parties -- he said that he would expect and welcome
contributions from Israel and the Palestinians to this document
that would advance true peace. So he solicited contributions from
both sides.
He received, in response, a formal submission, if you will, from
the Israeli side, and he felt he needed to respond to that with the
statement we issued today. So that's why the statement talks about
concerns that have been expressed by Israel, because that's what
we sort of formally received.
The Palestinian position has been that they have accepted the
road map and want it to go forward towards its implementation and to
begin the process of implementation. And what's happened in the
process today is it's now clarified the situation so that both
sides basically are now prepared to move forward on the basis of
implementing steps in the road map. That's -- so the statement is
phrased the way it is because of that history.
But again, as we move forward in the implementation, there will
have to be a lot of issues that will be addressed, and the
parties will be involved in that. And we will be sorting out the
details that need to be worked, in order to go forward.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: You have time for one more
question.
Q Yasser Arafat. Does the administration think that the
regional partners and Europeans should help essentially delegitimize
him?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, what we're focusing
on, really, is what the Palestinians are doing, which is to do
what the President has called for. They have now got an empowered
Prime Minister, Prime Minister Abbas, and he has a Cabinet. And we
are starting to work with him to try and move forward on this
process, and to implement. And that process is underway.
Q But the French Foreign Minister said today he's going to go
to the West Bank and see Yasser Arafat next week. Is that helpful?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, we think that the focus
really now needs to be on the person who the Palestinians have put
forward to be their Prime Minister, and the Cabinet that they have
established. And that's, obviously, where we think that that's the
institutions that we will be working with to try and advance this
process.
Q Thank you.
Q One quick one on Iran. There are reports that al Qaeda --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Not today.
Q No, not today?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Not today.
Q There never seems to be a right day.
Q -- rebuilding Palestinian security services. You had
discussed --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, I didn't say any of that.
I didn't say any of that. I said, obviously, they have to rebuild
those security institutions and make sure that they are able to conduct
the fight against terror. And I said that there may be a role for the
United States to support that effort, and for other states in the
regions to support that effort.
Q Thank you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Okay? Thank you.
END 11:08 A.M. EDT
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