2009 Statements
Press Statement of Senator George Mitchell Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Following meeting with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
April 14, 2009
Algeria
Well, thank you very much for being here. We had a good, candid and thorough discussion about the issues involved in my mission in the Middle East and many other issues that touch upon this region. I thanked the President in our discussion and I thank him now and also thank the Foreign Minister for their courtesy in receiving me and for giving me the opportunity to hear their views on these issues. The United States and Algeria have a long and good relationship and we hope that it will be deep and strong in the future and that we can continue to engage in an exchange of views and work together to achieve our common objectives, particularly in this case in the Middle East. Algeria is of course a member of the Arab League and the President is one of the most widely respected leaders of the countries in the region. So his advice is especially important and valuable to us as we try to move forward in the region. The policy of President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, myself, and the entire United States government is clear. We favor a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East including an Israeli-Palestinian agreement that results in two states, the so-called two-state solution, which we believe is the only way to achieve the desired result. This is my third visit to the region and my purpose is to meet with leaders and others to try to determine the best and most rapid way possible to achieve our common objective. The President was not only generous with his time, he invited me to return and I will accept and look forward to it as we continue to work together on this process. We are on agreement on the objective. We are also on agreement that it will not be easy. It is a very difficult and complex situation, but speaking on behalf of my government, we regard it as in the national interest of the United States that there be a comprehensive peace settlement in the region as well as in the interest of the people who live there. I again thank the President and the Foreign Minister and look forward to returning and to continuing to work together toward our common objective.