Press Secretary McClelland On Bush-Sharon Meeting
(April 11, 2005)
MR. McCLELLAN: All right, let me -- I just came over
here to kind of give a little bit more of a readout on the meeting and
answer whatever questions you might have on it.
First of all, I would describe the meetings as very
warm and friendly. They had a very warm and friendly visit, both during
the meeting at the President's office, which you all covered afterwards,
and then at the lunch, as well. And the focus, really, of the meeting
was on how to move forward in the Middle East and how to make the Prime
Minister's disengagement plan work. You heard some of the discussion
during the Q&A with the pool. And you heard the President talk about
the importance of Israelis and Palestinians coordinating on this effort.
And Prime Minister Sharon, as you heard in the remarks,
made an offer to coordinate with the Palestinian leadership. And the
President urged the Palestinian leadership to accept Israel's offer
to coordinate on the withdrawal. And that was really where a lot of
the focus of the initial -- of the meeting was at the President's office,
there on the ranch.
And they also spent time talking about the importance
of improving -- of Israel working to improve the situation for the Palestinians
in the West Bank area, and the importance of working together with President
Abbas and supporting his efforts to move forward on building the institutions
for a viable democracy to emerge.
So that was where much of the discussion was focused.
They also talked about Lebanon and Syria; they talked about the importance
of helping democracy succeed in a sovereign Lebanon. They spent a good
bit of time talking about the broader Middle East, too, and they talked
about the historic change that is occurring in the region. They talked
about the elections that are taking place. They talked about the democratic
progress in different parts of the region. And they talked about the
potential to extend freedom and democracy in the region, which will
help lead to long-term peace. And they talked -- in that context; they
talked about the progress being made in Iraq, as well. And then they
had some discussion about the internal political situation in Israel,
as well, where the Prime Minister talked a little bit about that.
Then, following that, they had the press avail. You
all had plenty of questions to get their views on the various issues
there. The President took him on -- took the Prime Minister on a tour
of the ranch, did some windshield ranching. And then they came over
to the house, the President and Mrs. Bush's house, where they had lunch.
They spent a good bit of time there talking about Iran; that's where
the discussion on Iran came up. And the President talked about the diplomatic
efforts by the Europeans to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
And they talked about their shared concern about Iran's intentions with
their nuclear program. And so they had quite a bit of discussion about
that.
And if you want the menu -- here, I'll just give you
the menu for the lunch. They had arugula and blood orange salad, pecan-smoked
beef tenderloin -- which was very good -- grilled asparagus and roasted
seasonal vegetables, some homemade peach sorbet, and then topped it
off with some brownies.
And that's really what I've got.
Q Did you get the sense that Prime Minister Sharon
-- how long was the meeting?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the meeting was -- started about
10:00 a.m., up until the time they really walked out to see you all
-- I guess about 10 or 15 minutes before that. So I think it was around
an hour and a half, probably.
Q And the lunch went for how long?
MR. McCLELLAN: And then the lunch -- it was a good
hour, at least. I didn't check the exact time. But the Prime Minister
-- probably a little bit more than an hour. The Prime Minister left
right about 2:00 p.m.
Q Does the President feel that Sharon heeded his warning
not to expand settlements --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think you heard directly from
Prime Minister Sharon, and he expressed his commitment to the roadmap.
And they also talked about Israel's views. I mean, I think, you know,
Israel, obviously, has certain views when it comes to some of the settlements
and final status discussions. You heard the President's view on the
final status negotiations, as well. He reiterated our view that he expressed
a year ago back at the White House, when he met with Prime Minister
Sharon, and he talked about the importance of supporting the Prime Minister's
bold initiative on disengagement. And he also talked about the new realities
on the ground, and how those have to be taken into account in the final
status discussions.
Q But the President sounded very unequivocal, saying
no expansion, and the Prime Minister -- there seemed to be some ambiguity
as to whether he's saying the roadmap says we shouldn't expand, or whether
he's saying we're going to kick this down the road.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, the roadmap -- and I think you heard
the point the President was making, that the roadmap has obligations
for both parties, and it's important that parties follow the roadmap.
The roadmap is the way forward to achieving the two-state vision. And
Prime Minister Sharon reiterated that -- the commitment to the roadmap
as a way to achieve the two state vision. But right now, as the President
iterated in his comments, we've got a real opportunity before us with,
with Israel committing to move out of Gaza. And the opportunity before
us in Gaza can help show us what is possible if it succeeds. And it's
important to keep the focus on making sure we succeed in Gaza.
Now, it's more than just Gaza, in terms of the President's
views. You heard in his opening remarks it's not just Gaza, but there's
more to do, as well. But Gaza provides an opportunity -- the withdrawal
from Gaza provides an opportunity to move forward to achieve the two
state vision, if it is successful. And that's where we want to make
sure that the parties are coordinating the disengagement plan, and working
together to build confidence. And that's what the President talked about
in the press avail at length.
Q So immediately after Sharon's translated remarks
in which he seemed to suggest that he intended the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement
should be a part -- would continue, Bush jumped in and made the strongest
statement. Did you talk to him at all afterward about that and the message
--
MR. McCLELLAN: They talked about it during --
Q -- whatever message he was trying to send? Did you
get the impression, or did the President tell you that he jumped on
that to send a message?
MR. McCLELLAN: They talked about it during the meeting.
The President, as you heard him say last week, reiterated our views
when it comes to settlement activity. And our view is that Israel should
not take steps that run counter to the roadmap when it comes to settlement
activity. The roadmap spells out what needs to be done. There are other
obligations that must be met in the roadmap, as well, and we want all
parties to meet their obligations.
Q Was he suggesting that that was outside --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you heard directly from the President
what his views were, that the roadmap makes it very clear what is called
for in terms of settlement activity. We expressed our views. As I said,
Israel has certain views when it comes to settlements and how they should
be addressed in final status discussions. And we've said that we're
not going to prejudice the outcome of the final status negotiations,
but that certain realities should be taken into account, as well.
Q Scott, the Israeli position is that the roadmap allows
for natural growth of settlements and that this plan to expand Ma'aleh
Adumim is naturally growing. What's the -- is that part of the roadmap?
MR. McCLELLAN: You can look at the roadmap for yourself.
Q No, I'm asking the United States government --
MR. McCLELLAN: What the roadmap says is an end to the
settlement activity -- that's what the roadmap spells out.
Q Can I ask a follow up question?
MR. McCLELLAN: Sure.
Q Is it fair to assume that you consider Ma'aleh Adumim
as one of the realities on the ground, but you are forced to the expanding
of natural growth, as it's called, in the settlement? Is this right
to assume?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, and go back to what the
President said. The President talked about that in his opening remarks,
when he reiterated what we had said a year ago, that you have to take
into account the new realities on the ground when it comes to final
status discussions. But we're not going to prejudice the outcome of
those final status discussions. And that's the President's view.
Q But would you agree to keep these settlements, the
major ones?
MR. McCLELLAN: You're asking me to prejudice the outcome
of the final status discussions, and the President said we're not going
to do that. In his remarks he specifically said that final status agreement
will be achieved only on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect
the realities on the ground. And he reiterated what we had said a year
ago.
Q Scott, did Prime Minister Sharon give the President
any assurances that these expansions that we're talking about and the
question of Jerusalem would be delayed or held up or something like
that, that nothing would happen right now?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, that what?
Q That nothing would happen right now on those.
MR. McCLELLAN: In terms of?
Q Did he give the President assurances that they would
delay any kind of expansion at this point, but keep the option open?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think he gave a commitment that
he made publicly, in private. He made the same commitment in private
that he made publicly, which was that Israel was committed to the roadmap
and their obligations, committed to meeting their obligations in the
roadmap.
Q But they have a different interpretation of the roadmap,
right? The President does, isn't that the case?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, and, Tom, that's why -- I mean,
what the President said about why the opportunity before us right now
is so important. There is a lack of confidence between the parties because,
given the past history in the region; and there are going to be difficult
steps to take along the way and there are going to be difficulties along
the way. But we have a real opportunity before us to move forward in
a way that can lead to the two state vision. And that's why the President
talked about the importance of making sure that the withdrawal from
Gaza is successful and that you can put in place a self-governing entity
there to take the place of Israel once the people leave that part of
the region.
Q That's not to say that there are not differences
between the United States and Israel.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, no, that's what I -- I mean, you
heard me say that obviously Israel has certain views that they carry
with them into any final status negotiations. I mean, I think that's
to be expected. But the President reiterated what our view was when
it comes to settlements. And you heard directly from Prime Minister
Sharon, too, express his commitment to removing unauthorized outposts
and his commitment to the obligations in the roadmap.
Q Let me try again. Prime Minister Sharon did not say
that his government would stop its plan to expand the settlement of
Ma'aleh Adumim, correct? He did not say that?
MR. McCLELLAN: You heard what he had to say. And I
think that's what he expressed to the President, as well.
Q So he -- what he said was, we'll abide by the roadmap,
right?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, you heard that in his remarks.
Q But his government is planning this gigantic expansion
of settlements, which is --
MR. McCLELLAN: I mean, look, Terry, this was -- they
had a very good discussion about a range of issues and they had a particularly
good discussion when it comes to the disengagement plan. And the President
was very clear in what our views were, in terms of the roadmap, and
I think Israel understands that and Israel expressed their commitment
to the roadmap as the way forward to achieving the two state vision.
And you heard the Prime Minister talk about that during the press avail.
Q But Sharon never explicitly said, okay, and under
the roadmap we won't do this gigantic expansion of settlements. The
President never got that promise?
MR. McCLELLAN: You heard what he said. I mean, I'm
not going to try to speak --
Q We're in Texas, though --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- I'm not going to try to speak for
the Prime Minister, beyond what he said publicly.
Q A little plain talk here in Texas, that's all.
MR. McCLELLAN: And I'm giving it to you. That's what
was expressed. And you heard from them directly.
Q Scott, you said that the President and the Prime
Minister talked at some length about Iran. Did the Prime Minister discuss
plans for Israel to take a pre-emptive strike against Iran if it goes
forward with its nuclear plan?
MR. McCLELLAN: That was not -- the discussion focused
on the diplomatic efforts that are ongoing right now by the Europeans
with Iran, and then they talked at length about the concerns that we
both have about what Iran's intentions are when it comes to a nuclear
program. We believe that they're seeking nuclear weapons under the guise
of civilian nuclear program, and there was a lot of discussion about
that. That's really what the focus was. No, there really wasn't a discussion
about what you're bringing up.
Q And no discussion about what happens if diplomacy
fails?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, there was some discussion about
if they don't follow through on their international obligations. And
we've talked about that, as well, that then, obviously, you have to
talk look at the next step. The next step is looking toward the Security
Council.
Q Did the President tell the Prime Minister when he
would welcome President Abbas to the White House, or in Crawford?
MR. McCLELLAN: Did what?
Q Did the President tell Prime Minister Sharon when
he would welcome President Abbas to the White House?
MR. McCLELLAN: We look forward to welcoming President
Abbas back to Washington at some point. As you know, the President has
extended an invitation, and we're just working out a time that is convenient
for President Abbas to come to Washington.
Q Since Sharon was in Waco last night, was there any
reason why he wasn't given an invitation to spend the night at the ranch?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, there really wasn't. I mean, I don't
think it was ever an issue. He decided to come in a day ahead, and they
had always planned to stay in Waco. There was never any discussion of
anything else. As you're aware, when Prime Minister Martin was here,
the day before he stayed in Temple. So it just wasn't an issue.
Q Did the Prime Minister ask for financial support
for the Gaza plan, because there's been a figure of a billion, three
billion --
MR. McCLELLAN: I imagine that's something that -- you
heard the President talk about in his remarks about supporting the development
in Negev and Galilee, in the Negev and Galilee regions. And I imagine
that they'll be continuing discussions on that. That wasn't really the
focus of this meeting, but I imagine there will be continuing discussions
between our two governments about how we can support those efforts.
Q Scott, since the Vice President and Secretary Rice
were there, could you tell us a little bit about what their involvement
was in the discussions during the day, and kind of give us a little
bit of what the scene was in the new office?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. I think that in the office there,
there was a lot of discussion -- it was a very relaxed atmosphere. Like
I said, it was very warm and friendly, in terms of the discussion. And
I think staffs on both sides were openly expressing some of their thoughts
during the discussion. That's the way I would describe it.
Q Somebody asked you yesterday, and I didn't hear this
question very well -- did Sharon seek any financial assistance for the
--
MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's the question that was asked
here, and that's what I pointed back to, how the President expressed
our support for developing the Negev and Galilee regions. And I imagine
that those -- that there will be continuing discussions about how we
can support those efforts to help with Israel's economic prosperity.
Q (Inaudible.)
MR. McCLELLAN: No, not that I'm aware of.
Q Any mention of the Palestinian elections scheduled
for July?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
Q The Palestinian elections?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, they talked broadly about the
broader Middle East and the elections that have been taking place from
the Palestinian territories to Iraq. No, I'm not aware that there was
a specific discussion on that. The discussion really focused more on
how to move forward on the Prime Minister's disengagement plan in a
way that is coordinated closely with Palestinians, so that it will be
successful.
Sources: The White House |