Address by Foreign Minister Dr.
Salaheddin Al-Bashir
Annapolis Conference for Peace
November 27, 2007
Annapolis, Maryland
Madam Secretary,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me at the outset to congratulate the people of Annapolis for celebrating
300 years of independence. It is a true privilege to be here on this remarkable
occasion.
We are appreciative of the personal commitment of President Bush and the
tireless work of Secretary Rice. We have come here today to demonstrate our
determination to seize this historic opportunity to achieve peace and stability
in a region that has suffered long enough from injustice, hatred and violence.
We are very pleased with the joint understanding that both parties reached and
that was announced by President Bush this morning. This important joint
understanding underscores both parties' commitments to pursue
negotiations-continuously and intensively- in order to conclude a peace
agreement by the end of next year. We are very pleased with the President's
personal commitment to help both sides achieve this noble goal.
His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein has been actively working with all
the parties, in order to bring about the establishment of an independent
Palestinian State living, side by side, in peace and security with the State of
Israel. This is the essential prerequisite for resolving the core issue in the
Arab-Israeli conflict. This would allow for the implementation of the Arab Peace
Initiative and for reaching a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement that
brings justice, security, peace and prosperity to our region.
The people of our region expect the United States of America and the Quartet to
play an active and crucial role in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
As His Majesty King Abdullah II stated in his historic address to a Joint
Session of Congress last March, “nothing can assert America’s moral vision more
clearly, nothing can teach the world’s youth more directly than your leadership
in a peace process that delivers results - -not next year, not in five years,
but this year.”
It is in this spirit, that we view this event in Annapolis as a significant
milestone towards establishing the Palestinian State. We are ready to exert
every effort to support both parties over the coming months to turn the
two-state vision into reality in 2008.
Our leadership is called for by the peoples of our region, who expect us to
translate the promises for prosperity, the initiatives for peace, and the plans
for development into real results and practical achievements on the ground that
touch their daily lives.
Today we send Palestinians, Israelis and Arabs a clear message of determination
to end this conflict and to rebuild the confidence in the peace process as the
only alternative for the region that we envision. At this critical cross-roads
in the history of the Middle East, we must lead. We cannot surrender the fates
of our peoples to those who seek to foster hate and conflict.
Madame Secretary,
Both parties have a responsibility to work together, and in parallel tracks, to
implement the requirements of the Roadmap and lay the ground for Palestinian
statehood.
Israel, today, more than any other party, can help the Palestinians in
delivering on their commitments and in building their economy and strengthening
their institutions. Palestinians, more than any other party, can provide Israel
with the security and stability it hopes for.
Nothing can undermine Palestinian aspirations and confidence in peace with
Israel than the continuation of settlement expansion, the persistence of
road-blocs, the proliferation of settler outposts and the encroachment of the
Wall on Palestinian towns, villages and lands.
Political negotiations towards a final status settlement must be accompanied by
immediate measures that will alleviate hardships and improve the daily lives of
the Palestinians.
It is time for Israel to begin withdrawing from Palestinian territories occupied
in the West Bank in September 2000, and allow Palestinians to strengthen and
rebuild their institutions. Israel also should halt and refrain from all actions
in East Jerusalem that undermine the final status settlement and peace
negotiations.
Our Palestinian brothers must face up to their responsibilities by solidifying
their security forces under the Palestinian Authority and by preserving law and
order over the territory under its control and I commend their achievements in
this regard.
These obligations of both parties cannot be realized without the active support
and assistance of the international community. There is a need to create a
monitoring mechanism to oversee the implementation by the two sides of their
respective commitments under the Roadmap. This will enable the verification of
implementation of both parties’ commitments in the coming months.
Jordan is fully committed to supporting the two sides in every possible way to
reach agreement on all core issues, and to overcome any remaining obstacles. We
are determined to work towards the establishment of an independent, contiguous,
and viable Palestinian State on the territories occupied in 1967, including East
Jerusalem, and on the basis of international law, the Arab Initiative, the
Roadmap and U.S. President Bush's letter to His Majesty King Abdullah II in May
2005, in which, he stated his objection to any measures that undermine the final
outcome of a peace agreement and in which the U.S. President emphasized the need
to agree on all final status issues.
In this regard, we should all recognize the massive human problems and suffering
caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Any lasting solution to the conflict
should ultimately remedy, through a negotiated and agreed upon premise; the
political, humanitarian, and economic problems of Palestinian refugees. Jordan
hosts the largest concentration of Palestinian refugees outside of the
Palestinian territories. As a concerned party, Jordan is directly interested in
a just and agreed upon resolution of this core issue. The other issues including
Jerusalem, borders and water, also have an immediate and direct impact on
Jordan’s interests and security. We look forward to close coordination with all
parties in the coming months in reaching just and lasting solutions to all these
issues.
In order for the region to enjoy permanent peace, security and stability, peace
must be comprehensive. This requires we also address the two other tracks: the
Syrian-Israeli peace track including the issue of the occupied Golan Heights;
and the Lebanese-Israeli peace track.
Madam Secretary, permit me to express my admiration and respect for your
personal efforts to advance the peace process, which is an objective to be
pursued with the greatest urgency.
Failing to reach our aspired goals in 2008, we will face irreversible
consequences that will deepen regional conflicts, expand current boundaries of
instability, reinforce the radical agenda and seriously undermine international
peace and security.
Thank you.