Statement Prior to Discussions With Israeli PM
Ariel Sharon
(March 20, 2001)
President Bush. It’s my honor to welcome the
Prime Minister of our close friend and ally to the Oval Office. Mr.
Prime Minister, welcome.
We’ve just had a very frank and good discussion.
Both of us reconfirmed our friendship, both talked about how best to
keep the peace.
I assured the Prime Minister my administration will
work hard to lay the foundation of peace in the Middle—work with
our nations in the Middle East, give peace a chance. Secondly, I told
him that our Nation will not try to force peace, that we will facilitate
peace, and that we will work with those responsible for peace.
The Prime Minister and I had met before. I took a tour
of the West Bank by helicopter, and he was the guide. It was a pretty
interesting—it was a really interesting day for me. He’s
got a marvelous sense of history, and I learned a lot about our friend
by touring the West Bank by chopper with you, Mr. Prime Minister.
You didn’t think you were going to be the Prime
Minister, and you probably darn sure didn’t think I was going
to be the President. But here we are, and we’ve got great responsibilities
to work together, and I look forward to doing so.
Welcome, Mr. Prime Minister. Glad you’re here.
Prime Minister Sharon. Thank you. I would like to thank
you, President Bush, for inviting me to the White House. We’ve
had a very constructive and frank discussion of strategic issues that
are of the interest of the United States and Israel. And we discussed
the peace process, what can be achieved, and how. We are, in Israel,
we are all committed to peace. As one who saw in the past all the horrors
of wars, I believe I understand the import of peace. And in Israel,
all of us are committed.
But of course, the first thing and the most important
one is to bring security to the citizens of Israel. That was the commitment
that I took upon myself, Mr. President, and that is the first thing
that we have to accomplish. Once we reach security, and it will be calm
in the Middle East, I believe that we will start with our negotiations
to reach a peace agreement.
We shared issues of common interest, and I think it
was a very good conversation, a very frank one, and I think that we
can look forward—can look ahead, how to achieve our common goals
in the Middle East, together with deep cooperation and coordination.
And I would like you for your friendship to Israel.
We have friends here, and you have friends there in Israel, which is
a democratic country, a stable democracy which appreciate the values
of democratic life. I’m sure that we can do many things together.
And I would like to thank you for the cooperation of your government,
of your own, for our future interests in the Middle East.
President Bush. Thank you, sir.
Jerusalem
Q. Mr. President, the Prime Minister last night expressed
his faith in Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal, undivided capital,
under Israel sovereignty. Mindful of your campaign statements, how do
you feel about this statement? Is that something that has
U.S. support?
President Bush. Well, the status of Israel, I mean,
the status of Jerusalem will be ultimately determined by the interested
parties. During the campaign, I said we’ll begin the process of
moving our Embassy to Jerusalem.
National Economy
Q. Mr. President, yesterday you said that you were
very confident about the U.S. economy. Today you said that it’s
slowing down. Which is it? Are you trying to have it both ways?
President Bush. I was talking about the longterm health
of our economy is going to be very strong. And that’s in Israel’s
interest, that our economy be strong. We’ve got some problems,
some shortterm problems, and if Congress were to act quickly on my tax
stimulus package, it would make our recovery quicker.
Q. Is there any reason to believe that it will help
in the short term? President Bush. Oh, I think it will, and I think
good fiscal policy and good monetary policy, good trade policy will
help our economy. And we need an energy policy, too. But I hope the
Congress acts quickly on a stimulus package that will improve our economy.
People have got to know that I have got great faith in the American
economy.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
Q. Mr. President, do you accept the idea not to invite
Yasser Arafat, or are you going to invite him and meet with him here?
President Bush. Well, one of the things that the Prime
Minister and I talked about is our engagement in the Middle East. I
will do everything we can to help calm nerves, to encourage there to
be dialog in a peaceful way. I haven’t made up my plans on who
I’m going to meet with yet. I do have some plans in place. I’m
looking forward to meeting the King of Jordan, for example.
But one of the things that I will do is use whatever
persuasive powers I have to create an environment in which peace can
flourish. I’ve got great confidence in the Prime Minister, and
so do the Israeli people. He got 66 percent of the vote. He did a little
better at the polls than I did.
[Laughter] You know what I mean, Mr. Prime Minister.
Future Middle East Negotiations
Q. Prime Minister Sharon, did you manage to convince
the President Bush that you will not negotiate under fire? Do you think
that this message is clear, and do you think that President Bush agrees
with you about this issue?
Prime Minister Sharon. I didn’t have to talk
to President Bush about that. I think what I understand the policy of
this great democracy, the United States, is that one should not surrender
to terror and pressure and violence. And therefore, I don’t have
to work too hard on this thing. I even didn’t try.
But I understand, and I believe that they do, and I
appreciate that respect that— to that approach that one should
never surrender to terror and that the free world should struggle against
terror, local, regional, and international terror. And I’m sure
that the United States leads such a struggle, and we are a partner in
the struggle. I think that is in the interest of every democratic state,
because in order to keep stability—and I’m a great supporter
of the President’s policy of keeping stability in the Middle East—the
main danger to stability is terror. And that, I believe, will be—
should be the common goal of every democratic country in the free world.
Q. Do you think that Arafat is the danger for the stability
in the Middle East, Mr. Sharon?
Prime Minister Sharon. I don’t think that I have
to add about Arafat. Everyone knows what are the steps of terror and
who is behind the steps. I don’t think I have to add anything
about that. It’s clear.
Sources: Public Papers of the President |