2009 Statements
Remarks by Special Envoy George Mitchell Before Meeting with President Shimon Peres
Jerusalem
June 9, 2009
MR. MITCHELL: Mr. President, thank you for your always kind and gracious words of welcome. Both individually and representing the President and the Secretary of State of the United States, it is an honor to meet with you, to seek your advice and counsel. No person has done more and seen more than you have in terms of the long-term effort to achieve peace and reconciliation in this region. You have always, and you continue today, to represent the people of Israel with great honor and distinction. But beyond that your voice resonates throughout the world as a statesman, as someone who has acquired the experience and the wisdom that makes your views weighty and worthy of great consideration.
So, I am personally very grateful to you for your courtesy, your hospitality, and most of all, for your advice.
I do want to say a few words about the effort in which we are now engaged. I want to begin by stating again clearly and emphatically beyond any doubt that the United States’ commitment to the security of Israel remains unshakeable. We are working hard to achieve the objective of comprehensive peace in the Middle East to which you have referred, Mr. President, including a Palestinian state, side by side in peace and security with the jewish state of Israel.
The President and the Secretary of State have made our policy clear, Israelis and Palestinians have a responsibility to meet their obligations under the roadmap. It is not just their responsibility; we believe it is in their security interest as well. But it is also in the interest of all others who seek to promote peace – Americans, Europeans, Arabs and others - to support this effort through tangible steps. We all share an obligation to create the conditions for the prompt presumption and early conclusion of negotiations. We are now engaged in serious discussions with our Israeli, Palestinian and regional partners to support this effort.
Let me be clear. These are not disagreements among adversaries. The United States and Israel are and will remain close allies and friends. My meetings today with the President and with other Israeli officials are discussions among friends who share a common set of objectives: peace, security and prosperity for all the people of this region.
The United States, under President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton remains fully committed to working with our friends, our allies and our partners to achieve that comprehensive peace.
Thank you, Mr. President.