TRANSCRIPT: CLINTON, NETANYAHU OVAL OFFICE Q&A WITH REPORTERS
USIA
USIS Washington File
20 January 1998
TRANSCRIPT: CLINTON, NETANYAHU OVAL OFFICE Q&A WITH REPORTERS
(Clinton cites need for "good faith" in Mideast talks) (1060)
Washington -- President Clinton says he believes Israel wants peace
and a resolution of the current Middle East crisis, and that "it's
very much in the interests of the Palestinians and Mr. (Yasser) Arafat
to seek to resolve it."
The President said he's found that "more often than not, you
ultimately have success if you stay at something and keep working at
it in good faith."
He gave this assessment during an Oval Office question and answer
session with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu just before
their January 20 meeting on the status of the Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks.
Clinton also reaffirmed "the strong support of the United States for
Israel and the strong support of the United States for the security of
Israel and a peace process that proceeds within that commitment."
Following is the White House transcript:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 20, 1998
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT CLINTON AND PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU IN PHOTO
OPPORTUNITY
Oval Office
Q: Good morning, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.
Q: Mr. President, Cuba is about to be in the news. What does the
United States gain from pressing the embargo?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, let me say our position on that is that we want
Cuba to move toward freedom and openness, and if they do we'll
respond. That's always been our position, and I believe in the end it
will prevail.
Q: Mr. President, on the Middle East, Mr. Arafat is talking with some
threatening phrases, speaking of maybe the intifada will be resumed.
And of course the Prime Minister said last night that's no way to
negotiate. How do you feel about --
THE PRESIDENT: I agree with that. I think if he makes an observation
that if this whole thing fails that it won't be good, then that's
understandable. But I don't think it should be encouraged. I've really
looked forward to this week. I've worked hard to get ready for the
meeting. I'm anxious to begin my sixth meeting with the Prime Minister
and then to see Mr. Arafat in a couple of days. And I think we have to
have a positive attitude. We need to be reassuring to people. We don't
want to undermine any confidence. We need to keep working.
Q: Mr. President, you said yesterday that you had high hopes, and that
seems out of step with some of the views of your top officials here.
What makes you have high hopes for these talks?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I've often been out of step in having high hopes
with a lot of people. It may be a defect in my nature, but I think --
for one thing I think that Israel wants peace and a resolution of
this. And I believe that it's very much in the interests of the
Palestinians and Mr. Arafat to seek to resolve it, and we're working
very hard. I've just found that, more often than not, you ultimately
have success if you stay at something and keep working at it in good
faith.
Q: Mr. President, could you just tell us what you believe a credible
withdrawal would be? And does Chairman Arafat need to do anything
before such a withdrawal should take place?
THE PRESIDENT: I think that's a conversation I need to have with the
Prime Minister first. I don't -- and I will do that.
Q: Mr. Netanyahu, may I ask you one question, please? Are you in a
more difficult situation because of the new make-up of your Cabinet,
because it's a smaller coalition? Is it more difficult for you to make
concessions and to negotiate?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: This is a difficult day for me because I've
lost a good friend, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Education. But
the composition of the government is irrelevant. The people who could
topple the government before Mr. Levy departed could topple it after
he departed. And I say to them what I say to everyone here and to
President Clinton: we made a decision to go to peace. This is what
this government is about -- peace with security. And I am sure that I
can muster the necessary support across the government and across the
coalition for something that will move the peace process forward and
maintain secure and defensible boundaries for Israel.
Q: And you believe you have enough support within your now more
limited government to pass any sort of vote for withdrawal, for
further Israeli withdrawal?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: For a withdrawal that will ensure our
defenses, that is what we're prepared to do. We're prepared to move
forward but not to jeopardize the security of the state of Israel.
(end Q&A with the U.S. press)
(begin Q&A with foreign press)
THE PRESIDENT: Welcome. Let me just briefly say that I am delighted to
see the Prime Minister again. This is our sixth meeting. I'm looking
forward to it. We're working hard to make progress, and I want to
reaffirm to the people of Israel the strong support of the United
States for Israel and the strong support of the United States for the
security of Israel and a peace process that proceeds within that
commitment. And I think we can succeed.
Q: Mr. President, what are your expectations from the meeting with the
Prime Minister?
THE PRESIDENT: That we're going to have a good-faith, detailed, frank
discussion and do our best to make some progress. And I think we've
got a chance to do that.
Q: Are you going to pressure Mr. Netanyahu to give concessions to the
Palestinians?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to have a discussion with him about where we
think the peace process is. I wouldn't use that word. Israel has to
make its own decisions about its own security and its own future.
Q: Who do you think is breaching the agreement more severely, more
seriously? The Israelis or the Palestinians?
THE PRESIDENT: I don't think it's fruitful to discuss that. I think
what we ought to talk about is what both sides can do now to get the
peace process moving again. That's the most important thing.
(Several non-English questions and answers between Prime Minister
Netanyahu and the Israeli press.)
(end transcript)