06 juin 2009
Jerusalem slams Syrian stonewalling of IAEA inspections
Jerusalem on Saturday slammed "new suspicious findings [by the International Atomic Energy Agency], as well as Syria's attempts to avoid answering the demands of the IAEA's request to inspect [nuclear sites]," an official statement made by the Israeli Nuclear Research Agency said. "Syria is trying to erase all evidence of the activity undertaken at Dir Azur," the statement said. Dir Azur is the location of a nuclear site destroyed by Israeli fighter jets in September 2007. The statement - a rare official utterance by Jerusalem over the global hazard of nuclear proliferation - also slammed the "weakness shown by the international community, [a weakness which] allows belligerent policy on the side of North Korea. This policy is also carefully studied by Iran," the statement says. On Friday, the UN nuclear agency reported its second unexplained find of uranium particles at a Syrian nuclear site, in a probe sparked by suspicions that a remote desert site hit by Israeli warplanes in September 2007 was a nearly finished plutonium producing reactor. In a separate report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran continued to expand its uranium enrichment program despite three sets of UN Security Council sanctions meant to pressure Tehran into freezing such activities. On Syria, the agency said the newest traces of uranium were found after months of analysis in environmental samples taken last year of a small experimental reactor in Damascus. The IAEA already reported a similar finding in February 2009 at a separate site - at or near the building bombed by Israel more than two years ago, which is thought to be a nuclear reactor. However, the uranium particles discovered during the most recent probe "are of a type not included in Syria's declared inventory of nuclear material," said the report. The particles' origin and potential significance still "needs to be understood," the agency noted. The report also mentioned that Syria continues to deny that North Korea funded the building of its nuclear reactor. Iran and Syria are under IAEA investigation - Teheran, since revelations more than six years ago of undeclared nuclear activities that could be used to make weapons, and Syria after Israel bombed a structure in 2007 said by the US to be a reactor built with North Korean help. But the agency has made little progress for over a year in both cases, and both of the restricted reports made available to The Associated Press on Friday essentially confirmed the status quo - stonewalling by both countries of the two separate IAEA probes. Iran says its nuclear activities are peaceful; Damascus denies hiding any nuclear program. "In order for the agency to complete its assessment, Syria needs to be more cooperative and transparent," said the IAEA in a document that detailed repeated attempts by agency inspectors to press for renewed inspections and documents - all turned down by Damascus. Drawing heavily on language of previous reports, the Iran document said Teheran has not "cooperated with the agency ... which gives rise to concerns and which need to be clarified to exclude the possibility of military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program." The report noted that Teheran continued to rebuff agency efforts to investigate suspicions the Islamic Republic had at least planned to make nuclear weapons. Without cooperation by the Islamic Republic, the IAEA "will not be in a position to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran," the report said. Syria and Iran are to come under renewed scrutiny when the 35-nation board of the agency meets June 15 to discuss the two reports. While the Syrian report was prepared only for the board members, the one on Iran also was transmitted Friday to the Security Council, which for more than three years has tried to pressure Teheran to give up enrichment and other activities of concern. Teheran says it is exercising its right to develop nuclear power in expanding its enrichment program. But the US other great powers and dozens of additional countries fear Iran might at some point shift from producing low enriched uranium needed for nuclear fuel to making highly enriched matter suitable for use in the core of nuclear warheads. The IAEA's Iran report reflected continued expansion both in the terms of the equipment in use or being set up and the amount of enriched uranium being turned out by those machines - centrifuges that spin uranium gas into enriched material. Nearly 5,000 centrifuges were processing uranium gas as of May 31, said the report, while more than 2,000 others were ready for operation. More than nearly 3,000 pounds - 1,300 kilograms - of low enriched uranium had been produced as of that date, said the more than four-page report. That compares to just over 2,220 pounds (1,000 kilograms) mentioned in the last IAEA report in February an amount that experts and US officials subsequently said was enough to process into enough weapons grade uranium for a nuclear warhead. Reversing the previous US stance, the Obama administration has said it is ready to talk one-on-one with Iranian officials on the nuclear issue. Obama himself has said Teheran has the right to benefit from nuclear power - as long as all proliferation concerns are put to rest. But President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said his country will not negotiate on its right to enrichment. (23,19)
05 juin 2009
US president pushes for 2-state solution
Prodding the international community, President Barack Obama called Friday "for all of us to redouble our efforts" toward separate Israeli and Palestinian states. "The moment is now for us to act," he declared. Alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel one day after his trip to the Middle East, Obama said, "The United States can't force peace upon the parties." But he said America has "at least created the space, the atmosphere, in which talks can restart." The president announced that he was sending special envoy George J. Mitchell back to the region next week to follow up on his speech in Cairo a day earlier in which he called for both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to give ground in the longtime standoff toward the elusive goal of peace. Fresh from visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Obama said that while regional powers and the entire international community were going to have to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace, "ultimately the parties involved have to make the decision that the prosperity and security of their people are best served" by an accord. "I think the moment is now for us to act on what we all know to be the truth, which is each side is going to have to make some difficult compromises," he added. He renewed his call for Israel to halt settlement activity in the West Bank and follow through on such previously made commitments, adding: "I recognize the very difficult politics in Israel of getting that done and I'm very sympathetic to how hard that will be." He also pressed Palestinians anew to dial back anti-Israel rhetoric that is not constructive to the peace process. Obama said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "has made progress on this issue, but not enough." "All of these things are going to take time. But I'm confident ... we are going to make some progress on it," Obama added. Merkel, for her part, promised to cooperate in her own right on this long-sought goal. She said the two leaders discussed a timetable for a peace process but did not elaborate. "I think that, with the new American government and the president, there is a truly unique opportunity to revive this peace process or, let us put this very cautiously, this process of negotiations," Merkel said. Touching on an issue that has strained the American-German relationship, Obama also said he didn't seek any commitments from Germany as the United States seeks to close the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and determines what to do with the terrorism suspects held there. Merkel said her country is prepared to "constructively contribute" to US closure efforts and said she was confident of eventually reaching a "common solution" on the prisoners' fate. On other matters, Obama said he's seen "some progress" in bringing stability to the world in the wake of the deep recession that has crisscrossed the continents in recent months, and said he and Merkel agreed that they must continue to "work very closely together" to restore stability. Addressing climate change, Obama also said "we're going to have to make some tough decisions and take concrete actions if we are going to deal with a potentially cataclysmic disaster." The two leaders spoke to reporters after meeting privately at a castle in this east German city and before Obama was to tour the Buchenwald concentration camp. In his Thursday speech in Egypt, Obama issued a scathing indictment of those who question the Holocaust, saying that to do so "is baseless, it is ignorant, and it is hateful." "Threatening Israel with destruction or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of the Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve," Obama added. It was a pointed message to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has expressed doubts that 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis and who has urged that Israel be wiped from the map. On Friday, the US president added: "The international community has an obligation, even when it's inconvenient, to act when genocide is occurring." Obama is the first US president to visit Buchenwald, and the stop was personal. A great-uncle helped liberate a nearby satellite camp, Ohrdruf, in early April 1945 just days before other US Army units overran Buchenwald. Ohrdruf no longer stands. But Buchenwald's main gate, crematorium, hospital and two guard towers have been kept as a memorial. Accompanying Obama to the site was Elie Wiesel, a 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and Holocaust survivor, who as a boy was taken to Auschwitz, then to Buchenwald, where his father died in 1945 three months before liberation. Following the tour, Obama was flying to Landstuhl medical hospital for private visits with US troops recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan. And he was ending the day in Paris - reuniting with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, who planned a brief holiday in the City of Light after commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Allies' D-Day invasion in France. (21,33)
04 juin 2009
'Gov't shares Obama's wish for Arab-Israeli reconciliation'
The Prime Minister's Office responded to US President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world on Thursday by expressing hope that it would help lead to reconciliation between the Muslim world and Israel. "The government of Israel expresses hope that President Obama's important speech will lead to a new period of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world, and Israel. We share Obama's hope that the American effort will bring about an end to the conflict and to pan-Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish state. "Israel is obligated to peace and will do as much as possible to help expand the circle of peace, while taking into consideration our national interests, the foremost of which is security," the statement concluded. President Shimon Peres praised Obama, saying that his "speech was a speech filled with a vision, [it was] a brave speech which promises hard work for all of the sides involved in advancing the peace process in the Middle East. "The idea of peace was born in the Middle East and is a basic term [used] in the three monotheistic religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - and it is up to the children of Abraham to join hands in order to meet the challenge together - sustainable peace in the Middle East." Meanwhile, politicians across the political spectrum reacted with both praise and condemnation to his words. "This is a direct, significant and brave appeal, in which President Obama has formulated his vision and the important universal values he wishes to share with the Muslim world," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement from Washington, where he was meeting with Henry Kissinger. "The speech contains reinforcement and encouragement for the moderate and peace-seeking elements, as well as an affront to terror and extremist elements threatening stability in our region and peace in the world. "We praise the president's commitment to the existence and safety of Israel, as well as his clear call for Israel's integration in the region," Barak said. "We hope the Arab world will heed President Obama's call to bring an end to terror and violence and establish peaceful ties with Israel. We will act in coordination with the US to promote peace, while emphasizing the safeguarding of Israel's essential security interests," the defense minister concluded. Other cabinet members had none of Barak's enthusiasm. "Obama ignored the fact that the Palestinians have not abandoned terror," Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Daniel Herschkowitz said during a tour of settlements south of Hebron. "The government of Israel is not America's lackey. The relations with the Americans are based on friendship and not submission, and therefore Israel must tell Obama that stopping natural growth in the settlements is a red line." Another member of the same party, Zevulun Orlev, also reacted with dismay to the president's comments. "The speech raises fears and worries about the [fate] of America's balanced relationship towards Israel," he said. "I have a bad feeling ... traditional commitments of the United States towards the security needs which ensure the existence and independence of the state of Israel are being eroded. "The answer to this is not capitulation or flattery," Orlev continued, "but rather the negotiation" to convince the US of the Israeli position." In contrast, Kadima MK Ze'ev Boim used the opportunity to both laud the speech and criticize the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. "Obama's speech is further proof that Netanyahu did not properly gauge the policies of the Untied States," he said. "The policies of the president on the Palestinian issue are identical to those of Kadima, and it is unfortunate that Netanyahu is unable to accept the idea of two states for two peoples for narrow political reasons." Labor rebel MK Eitan Cabel also had words of praise for the president and condemnation for the prime minister. "The president's words made it very clear that in Washington they are unwilling to turn a blind eye," he said. "Time is working against us, and the Israelis interest of not being a serial rejector means accepting two states for two peoples and stopping construction of settlements." United Arab List MK Ahmed Tibi said that while he agreed with the speech, there was "no Israeli partner to implement" it. "Obama presented a new and balanced approach and semantics in his speech, and reiterated that the settlements are not legitimate," he said. "This approach requires active steps that will be the test of his policy." "His words of praise for Islam are a counterweight to Islamaphobia, and what he said about Palestinian suffering is an important basis for diplomatic progress," Tibi added. Hadash MK Dov Henin joined Tibi, Cabel, and Boim in their praise of the speech. "The whole world understands that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential and urgent for security and peace in the entire world," he said. "The time has come for the Israeli public to make its voice heard in a clear way against the refusal of the Netanyahu government to make peace." Outside of the Knesset, reactions were also mixed. Aliza Herbst, resident and spokeswoman for the Ofra settlement, said that modern history has shown that the Muslim world is at war with the West. She said that Obama's vision of peace sounded nice but was not realistic. The citizen's committees of Judea and Samaria said the speech was an expression of Israel "paying the price for the defeatism of its leaders." "Hussein Obama chose to adopt the lying versions of the Arabs, which were always stated persistently and brazenly, over the Jewish truth, which is stated in a weak and stuttering voice," the settlers said in a statement. It was time for Netanyahu to join the ranks of Menahem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, "arise as a proud Jewish leader and declare that he rejects with repugnance the rewritten history that Obama attempted to dictate today," they said. (21,11)
US president says Iran has right to peaceful nuclear energy
In a widely anticipated speech from Cairo Thursday, US President Barack Obama vowed continued support for Israel, but was uncompromising in his demand for the establishment of a Palestinian state, can called for a stop to settlements. He also said that Iran had the right to peaceful nuclear energy, but added that the US would not hesitate to be tough in upcoming talks with the Islamic Republic. Obama called for an end to the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between Americans and Muslims. The President said the US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements "on the West Bank and outskirts of Jerusalem." "Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist," he said. "The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people." "At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine," he said. "It is time for these settlements to stop." On the issue of Iran Obama said the US will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. Obama acknowledged the United States' role in overthrowing the democratically elected Iranian government during the last century. He said it was going to be difficult to overcome decades of mistrust. But he said the US was willing to move forward with mutual respect and without preconditions. Obama said that approach would prevent a nuclear arms race in the region. He said no single nation should decide which countries have nuclear weapons. Obama called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims" and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East. "This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," Obama said. He said the US seeks a new beginning with the Muslim world but "change cannot happen overnight." In a gesture, Obama conceded at the beginning of his remarks that tension "has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations." Obama said some people in the United States view Islam as hostile to Western countries, but that this was not the case, despite fear and mistrust. "And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," he said. At the same time, he said the same principle must apply in reverse. "Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire." He treaded lightly on one issue that President George W. Bush had made a centerpiece of his second term - the spread of democracy. Obama said he has a commitment to governments "that reflect the will of the people." And yet, he said, "No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other." At times, there was an echo of Obama's campaign mantra of change in his remarks, and he said many are afraid it cannot occur. "There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward," he said. Upon arrival in Cairo on Thursday morning, Obama told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that the United States is committed to working in partnership with the countries in the Middle East. The two leaders also spoke about the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and how to bring peace in the Middle East. Obama thanked Mubarak for his hospitality, and praised him as a man who has decades of experience on a range of issues. The US president arrived in Egypt after spending the night at Saudi King Abdullah's horse farm in the desert outside Riyadh, hours before he was set to deliver a long-promised speech to an audience at Cairo University. Aides said the address would blend hopeful words about mutual understanding with carefully chosen language on Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, plus blunt talk about the need for Muslims to embrace democracy, women's rights and economic opportunity. The president's brief stay in Cairo also was to include a visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque, a 600-year-old center of Islamic worship and study, and a tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza on the capital's outskirts. Aides said the schedule also would afford Obama time to talk to Egyptian journalists and young people. Even though he's been promising this speech since the election campaign, in recent days Obama has sought to downplay it. "One speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East," he told a French interviewer. "Expectations should be somewhat modest." Lest any miss Obama's outreach, the tech-savvy White House planned a communications onslaught: a live Webcast of the speech on the White House site; remarks translated into 13 languages; a special State Department site where users could sign up to get - and answer - speech highlights; and plans to push excerpts out to social networking giants MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. Denis McDonough, a deputy national security adviser, said Obama's address would contain "a good deal of truth-telling about our range of issues and concerns, as well as our common and mutual interests across the board." Though the speech was co-sponsored by al-Azhar University, which has taught science and Quranic scripture here for nearly a millennium, the actual venue was the more modern and secular Cairo University. The lectern was set up in the domed main auditorium on a stage dominated by a picture of Mubarak. The university's alumni are among the Arab world's most famous - and notorious. They include the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfuz. Saddam Hussein studied law in the '60s but did not graduate. And al-Qaida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri earned a medical degree. (14,16)
Obama: U.S. won't turn its back on Palestinians
In his long-anticipated Cairo address to the Muslim world, U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed Washington's strong backing for a Palestinian state, highlighting his administration's commitment to follow through on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While reaffirming Washington's "unbreakable bond" with Israel, Obama said that there can be no denying of the right of "Palestine" to exist, and that he would "personally pursue" the realization of a Palestinian state "with all the patience that the task requires." "Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's," Obama said. The president also issued a blunt repudiation of Israel's settlement enterprise in the West Bank, an issue that has strained Washington's ties with Jerusalem. "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," Obama said. "This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop." "The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear," Obama said, referring to the multi-stage peace plan agreed to by Israel and the Palestinians during the Bush presidency. "For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities." "If we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth," Obama said. "The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security." "That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest," the president said. Obama said his government will close the gap between public pronouncements and difficult truths that are often acknowledged behind closed doors in the halls of power throughout the Middle East. "America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs," Obama said. Obama urged Muslims around the world to acknowledge Jewish suffering and to repudiate Holocaust denial. The Arab and Muslim world ought to reconcile with the existence of Israel, the president said. "Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve," Obama said. The president also noted the plight of the Palestinians, who "have suffered in pursuit of a homeland" and who "endure daily humiliations ... that come with occupation." "Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead," Obama said. "So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own." The president urged the Palestinians to draw upon the example of African slaves in the United States, arguing that a "peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding" had led to their gaining civil rights. "Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed," Obama said. "For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights." Obama said the Palestinians "must focus on what they can build." He urged Hamas to accept the Quartet's preconditions for international recognition - recognition of past signed agreements with Israel, recognition of Israel's right to exist, and a renunciation of violence. "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect," Obama said. Obama offered the Arabic greeting of assalaamu alaykum, or "peace be unto you", in the early part of his speech. He also quoted a passage from the Koran and cited his father's Muslim background in a bid to highlight his sensitivity to Islamic grievances against the West. "America is not and never will be at war with Islam," Obama said. "We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security." "The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars," Obama said. "Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims." "Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President," Obama said. "But my personal story is not so unique." Obama is delivering his long-anticipated speech seeking to turn a new page in Washington's relations with the Arab and Muslim world. Obama arrived in Egypt hours before giving long-promised speech in Cairo, the ancient seat of Islamic learning and culture. The U.S. president is hoping to usher in a new era in the United States' relationship with the world's 1.5 billion Muslims. Aides say Obama will blend hopeful words about mutual understanding with blunt talk about the need for Muslims to embrace democracy, women's rights and economic opportunity. Obama met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a key American ally, at his palace in the capital. "We discussed how to move forward in a constructive way to bring peace and prosperity to people in the region," Obama told reporters after talks with Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt since 1981 and kept a tight lid on opposition. "I emphasized to him that the U.S. is committed to working in partnership with countries in the region so all people can meet their aspirations," he said before heading to a mosque in a quarter of Cairo that is full of Islamic architectural gems. The mosque is a 600-year-old center of Islamic worship and study called the Sultan Hassan mosque. Obama will then tour the Great Pyramids of Giza on the capital's outskirts. Obama arrived in Egypt from Saudi Arabia, where he stayed overnight at King Abdullah's horse farm in the desert outside Riyadh. In his Cairo address Thursday, Obama called on Israel and the Arab states to change their approach to the Middle East peace process. (14,11)
Barak fails to convince US admin that total building freeze is illogical
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held talks in Washington on Wednesday night with US Vice President Joe Biden. Barak's bureau said the defense minister told Biden that Israel is commited to work with the United States to advance peace in the region and with the Palestinians, while dealing with the array of threats and challenges of the region. Barak is due to hold talks with his American counterpart Robert Gates on Thursday. A Kol Yisrael reporter says in Barak's talks with US administration officials and Congress, no progress was made towards reaching an understanding on the matter of settlement construction. Barak called on the US leaders to tone down their declarations against Israel on the matter. Adminsitration representatives asked that Israel act in the same manner. Barak rejected a demand for a complete freeze on settlement construction and said it is illogical. With this, he expressed confidence that a solution to the matter will be found. In Jerusalem, right-wing activists demonstrated outside the US Consulate on Wednesday night to protest the recent statements made by the Obama administration regardng the continued development of West Bank settlements. The Jerusalem Post reports that the protest was conducted under the slogan, "Obama: no, you can't." (11,57)
Jerusalem tense ahead of Obama's speech to Moslem world
United States President Barack Obama meets in Cairo on Thursday morning with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and will afterwards deliver a much anticipated speech to the Moslem world at Cairo University. Obama is seeking in the speech to open a new chapter in Moslem-US relations. The speech, however, is not expected to give details of a new American Middle East peace initiative. A senior adviser to Obama, David Axelrod, noted that there has been a breach years in the making between the United States and the Moslem world, and it will not be reversed in one speech, and possibly not even during the course of one administration. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit of Egypt, in an interview with the BBC's Arabic language service, said Obama's speech would be historic, and would relate to the events that led to the worsening of ties between the United States and the Arab world over the past 30 years. He said that in his view, one of the central events is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is tension in Jerusalem ahead the President Obama's speech at Cairo University. A Kol Yisrael reporter says Jerusalem did not receive an advance copy of the address as it did from previous American administrations, and there is concern in diplomatic circles that Obama's outreach to the Moslem might come at Israel's expense. Professor Eytan Gilboa, a specialist in US-Israel relations, told our reporter he believes that by joining a coalition with so-called Arab moderate states, the US hopes to decrease the influence of extremist Moslem forces in the region. Obama began his Middle East tour in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. He praised the wisdom of Saudi King Abdullah, saying he had travelled to the birthplace of Islam to seek the king's counsel. Obama also praised the long friendship between the US and the Saudi kingdom. Abdullah hosted Obama at his farm outside Riyadh. Meanwhile, President Shimon Peres says Obama's trip to Saudi Arabia and Egypt could serve as an opportunity for historic change in the Middle East. In a commentary appearing in Britain's London Times newspaper, Peres writes that the possibility to achieve regional peace is greater now than ever before. He says the time is ripe to end the Israeli-Arab conflict. (11,55)
Reuters: Nicolas Sarkozy menace l'Iran d'un isolement croissant
Le chef de l'Etat français a reçu plus d'une heure à l'Elysée, à la demande de Téhéran, le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Manouchehr Mottaki, porteur selon la présidence française d'un message des "hautes autorités iraniennes", dont la teneur n'a pas été révélé. Le chef de la diplomatie française, Bernard Kouchner, qui a assisté à l'entretien avant de prendre l'avion pour le Brésil, avait auparavant laissé percer son scepticisme en émettant l'espoir d'un "vrai miracle". Prié de dire, à l'issue de la rencontre, si le miracle avait eu lieu, il a fait une grimace et répondu "non". Ce que l'Elysée a implicitement confirmé quelques instants plus tard dans un communiqué tandis que des conseillers du chef de l'Etat et de Bernard Kouchner poursuivaient les discussions avec le ministre iranien dans un salon du palais présidentiel. Selon ce communiqué, Nicolas Sarkozy a évoqué avec son interlocuteur "les risques que font courir à la paix les initiatives de l'Iran dans le domaine du nucléaire". Il s'est dit profondément préoccupé par les "activités proliférantes" iraniennes, a réitéré la volonté de la France, de l'Allemagne, de la Grande-Bretagne, de la Chine, de la Russie et des Etats-Unis de contribuer à une solution négociée et invité l'Iran à s'engager dans une telle négociation. Celle-ci ouvrirait la voie à une coopération "très large" avec l'Iran, y compris dans le nucléaire civil, a réaffirmé Nicolas Sarkozy, qui a jugé une telle solution possible. "A défaut, l'Iran s'exposera à un isolement international toujours croissant sur tous les plans", a-t-il ajouté. Les Six s'efforcent notamment de convaincre Téhéran de renoncer à son programme d'enrichissement d'uranium. Les Occidentaux et Israël sont convaincus que le président Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, qui continue de rejeter toute négociation avec les Six, veut doter son pays de l'arme nucléaire.
SARKOZY CONDAMNE DES PROPOS "INADMISSIBLES"
Partisan d'un "dialogue exigeant" assorti de sanctions renforcées, dont le gel des investissements internationaux en Iran, Nicolas Sarkozy a averti plusieurs fois les dirigeants iraniens qu'ils prendraient le risque d'une frappe israélienne s'ils ne cédaient pas aux pressions internationales. Le nouveau ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères, Avigdor Lieberman, a cependant déclaré mercredi à Moscou qu'Israël n'avait pas l'intention de bombarder l'Iran. Manouchehr Mottaki est la première personnalité iranienne de haut rang reçue officiellement à l'Elysée par Nicolas Sarkozy depuis la venue en octobre 2007 de l'émissaire Ali Akbar Velayati, ancien ministre des Affaires étrangères et actuel conseiller diplomatique du guide de la Révolution Ali Khamenei. Selon Bernard Kouchner, l'entretien avec Manouchehr Mottaki avait été reporté après une diatribe du président iranien contre Israël le 20 avril à Genève, lors de la deuxième conférence de l'Onu sur le racisme. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad avait dénoncé un "gouvernement totalement raciste" et provoqué le départ des représentants de l'Union européenne de la salle de conférence. Depuis son arrivée à l'Elysée en mai 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy n'a eu de cesse de dénoncer les attaques anti-israéliennes du président iranien. Il a notamment déclaré à plusieurs reprises qu'il lui était impossible de serrer la main de quelqu'un "qui a osé dire qu'Israël doit être rayé de la carte". Selon l'Elysée, il a condamné au début de l'entretien avec Manouchehr Mottaki des propos tenus mercredi par Mahmoud Ahmadinejad mettant de nouveau en doute l'extermination des juifs par les nazis pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Le président iranien cité par des médias d'Etat a qualifié de "grande tromperie" l'Holocauste dans un discours prononcé dans le cadre de la campagne pour l'élection présidentielle du 12 juin à laquelle il se présente pour un deuxième mandat. Nicolas Sarkozy a jugé ces propos inadmissibles et profondément choquants. Le dossier iranien sera vraisemblablement au menu de l'entretien que le président français aura samedi à Caen avec son homologue américain Barack Obama, en marge de la célébration du 65e anniversaire du débarquement allié en Normandie.(11,22)
Peres: Obama's journey a unique opportunity
"The passengers are ready. The ship is waiting. It is time for the navigators to decisively take the helm," President Shimon Peres wrote in an article published Thursday by British newspaper Times, just several hours before US President Barack Obama's historic speech to the Arab world from Cairo. "President Obama's journey to Saudi Arabia and Egypt could be an opportunity. It reflects both the need for an historic change in the Middle East and a unique chance of achieving it," Peres wrote. The kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia "are right in seeing both the proper destination and the surest path for its realization. With the support of the leadership in Egypt, it seems the time is ripe to end the Israeli-Arab conflict once and for all." Addressing Iran, Peres wrote, "Many Arab leaders perceive hegemony-seeking Iran as a threat to their existence and identity. For them, the primary challenge is not Israel but the Iranian ayatollahs who seek domination over the Middle East, using terror and threats of unconventional weapons. Israel is increasingly viewed as a part of the new path for a regional solution. A regional security framework will also help Israel to secure its paramount interest of security." Various ideas are being discussed, Peres said. "One significant concept is King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's peace initiative which was adopted by the Arab League in Beirut. Much wisdom lies also in King Abdullah of Jordan's proposal of a '57-state solution' to the Arab-Israeli conflict. "Achieving this historic goal calls for a twin-track approach. It requires bilateral negotiations between Israel and each of its neighbors - the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon. And in tandem with this, a regional process of normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab states. Such diplomatic architecture may introduce a win-win strategy for all parties." (10,51)
03 juin 2009
Barak cites disagreements with US
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in Washington Wednesday night that he had asked the White House to "water down its remarks, briefings and leaks, so that we can talk about fundamental issues." Speaking to Israeli reporters, the defense minister admitted that "there were differences of opinion between Israel and the US administration," after the two sides failed to reach an agreement regarding West Bank settlements. Barak reiterated that Israel "welcomes [US President Barack] Obama's initiative for regional peace," but said that as for now, "not everything has been agreed upon." "The US administration is looking for the correct way to garner Israeli support for revitalizing the peace process," continued Barak, stressing that he was "more optimistic" following his talks on Tuesday with Obama and US National Security Adviser James Jones. (00,13)