King Abdullah II calls on
U.S. to set the pace for Mideast Peace at CSIS
address
WASHINGTON, DC (24
April 2009) – His Majesty King Abdullah II on
Friday called on the United States to set the pace
for Middle East peace, urging an effective plan for
Palestinian-Israeli negotiations that can achieve
results quickly and stop the drift towards
confrontation.
“We do not have time to engage in
yet another open-ended process,” King Abdullah said
during an address to leading American policy makers,
analysts and journalists at the Centre for Strategic
and International Studies in the American capital.
“We have seen what comes of process without
progress. Every missed opportunity has alienated
more people on both sides. Such a course increases
distrust and difficulties, and fuels those who seek
to carry the parties down the path to destruction.”
The King delivered the speech on
the last day of a several-day tour to the United
States that included meetings with President Barack
Obama, as well as several senior US administration
officials and US congressional representatives,
including the Friends of Jordan Caucus in the US
House of Representatives and the Senate, which
hosted a lunch in honour of King Abdullah and Her
Majesty Queen Rania, who accompanied the King on the
visit.
The King said the concern and
engagement from the new US administration were
heartening and appreciated in Jordan and throughout
the region, but added that only sustained American
focus and resolve would deliver results.
He said American leadership could
be effective in several areas. The first and most
vital, he said, is for the superpower to encourage
its friends to think and act strategically by
keeping their focus on where they want to be in two
to three decades.
King Abdullah said the US can
also encourage Israel to accept the opening to peace
in the landmark Arab Peace Initiative.
“By its unanimous voice, by its
serious approach, the Arab Peace Initiative is the
most important proposal for peace in the history of
this conflict,” the King told an audience of more
than 150 people.
The King said it was imperative
for the United States “to make it absolutely clear
that it will not accept retrograde movement” in
Palestinian-Israeli peace making.
“The elements of a settlement are
known. There is an agreed agenda for negotiations;
there is a clear objective: Two states, side by
side; sovereign, respected and safe; with viable
economies and institutions; and acceptance from
neighbours and the world community.”
He also urged the American
administration not to be tone-deaf to Palestinian
suffering, saying that the US sends a powerful
message to the people of the region by its response
to Palestinian suffering.
“A signal is sent when the US
ensures relief and rebuilding in Gaza and provides
humanitarian aid in the West Bank,” he said. “But
signals are also sent when [the US] acts or fails to
act against the daily hardships of West Bank life,
against illegal settlement building, against
unilateral Israeli actions in Jerusalem … The US
commitment to Palestinian statehood must be
unambiguous in deeds as well as words.”
