Press Availability With Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit

Obviously, the statement as well as the discussions cover the Middle East issue, the issue of Iraq, the Iranian nuclear issue, the issue of Lebanon, as well as the issue of terrorism, and lastly the nonproliferation and issues of weapons of mass destructions.

The meeting was very fruitful and we have exchanged clearly a variety of views. It was a frank discussions and we believe that there’s a great deal of understanding between the U.S. Secretary of State on the one hand and the other participants on the other hands.

The U.S. Secretary of State explained to us in details and with clarity the American vision and the American views to move and advance the Middle East peace process and the conference or the meeting that President Bush called for and expressing the American desire to advance a Palestinian-Israeli settlement that would lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state and contiguous Palestinian state.

We also heard with a great deal of interest the American vision and the American views about Iraq regarding the upcoming period, which is the next 17 months the life of the Administration.

That was briefly what we have discussed. The U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, they will both be honored to meet President Mubarak after this press conference. Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, thank you very much, Minister. Thank you very much for arranging this meeting of the GCC plus Egypt and Jordan and the United States. This is the fifth time that we have met in this configuration, beginning with the meeting that we held during the UNGA last September. And I think it is a sign of our intensifying political dialogue that we have met more frequently, and I believe we are continuing to find this forum an excellent way to address the many challenges and opportunities that we have.

And today, we indeed, as you said, discussed a number of those challenges, particularly how to support a unified Iraq in which all Iraqis can live in peace and security. We talked about the challenges facing Lebanon and how we can support the democratically elected Government of Lebanon. But we also talked at some length, as you said, about the opportunities that may be there now to advance the two-state solution.

I thank you very much for welcoming, as did the other members of the GCC, Egypt and Jordan, the President’s statement of July 16^th. And I look forward to the consultations that we will have in advance of the convening of an international meeting sometime this fall. I said to the minister and to others that I expected to be frequently here in the efforts to prepare that meeting because we also need to enhance and work to accelerate progress on the bilateral track between Israelis and Palestinians.

So thank you very much for inviting us here, and it was a very fruitful discussion.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Also to comment on what Dr. Rice said, we have also told Secretary Rice that we’ll always welcome her here in Egypt and in the region.

QUESTION: (inaudible)

SECRETARY RICE: Well, the assistance discussions that we are having with Egypt, with Israel, with Saudi Arabia and with other Gulf states – and I might note that there are several Gulf states with which we are having those discussions – fall in a long line of American efforts in this region going back decades to help assure and – assure the security of our friends and allies in the region. There’s really nothing new about this. We’re coming to the end of a ten-year program with Egypt, the end of a ten-year program with Israel. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns will come out to the region sometime in the next couple of weeks to have further discussions.

But the United States is determined to assure our allies that we are going to be reliable in helping them to meet their security needs. We have a lot of interests in common in this region in the fight against terrorism and extremism, in protecting the gains of peace processes of the past and in extending those gains to peace processes of the future. So it makes perfectly good sense that positive agenda on the diplomatic side – and I want to emphasize that there is a very active now and intensive diplomatic process in place, too – that that diplomatic process would be accompanied by efforts to help our allies defend themselves against any threats. It’s a positive agenda. It’s not aimed at anyone.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: It is important to add to what the Secretary has just said that the American assistance, military assistance to Egypt, has been a going concern over the last two and a half decades. It started almost 1979 and it continues for the next ten years as the Secretary has indicated, and (inaudible) Burns will be indicating this as he comes to the region.

SECRETARY RICE: Let’s see. An American journalist?

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: An American. We’ll alternate it.

SECRETARY RICE: We’ll alternate. We’ll alternate, yes.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: And as we are the host, it will be two-to-one.

SECRETARY RICE: Oh, really? (Laughter.) Two-to-one which way? (Laughter.)

QUESTION: And this is a question for both the ministers. Was any fresh commitments of Iraq from the Gulf states (inaudible) and Saudi Arabia? If so, (inaudible)? If not, why not? Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: What is the –

SECRETARY RICE: Fresh commitments for Iraq.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Fresh commitments on --

QUESTION: Iraq.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Well, the Egyptian GCC Arab commitment is always to help a unified, united Iraq to reach that point of full stability. That we have been trying to do over the last four years and that we have been as Egypt hosting many conferences in this city, Sharm el-Sheikh, to reach a certain international, regional understanding how to bring Iraq as one unit to the point of stability.

We have been also calling for the non-interference of any foreign powers into Iraqi affairs, and that is something that we would renew.

I would refer you to the statement that will be issued at the end of our press conference. It relates directly to your question.

SECRETARY RICE: Yes, it relates directly to the question. I think we know what the obligations are of the neighbors. They were undertaken at Sharm el-Sheikh. It’s now a matter of carrying forth those obligations. They are obligations for some states concerning debt relief. There are obligations for other states concerning financial support.

I just want to note that Egypt has been one of the most active states in terms of diplomatic support to Iraq, including the tragic loss of an Egyptian ambassador who was indeed accredited to Iraq. And so this was an effort to think together about what we can do, but I think the commitments were outlined at Sharm el-Sheikh and in the international compact, and people are carrying through on those commitments.

QUESTION: A question from (inaudible). Welcome back.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you.

QUESTION: What’s exactly the aim of the next coming conference or meeting in autumn? Is it only for the Palestinian authorities or for the aim of resuming the peace process exactly?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think President Bush made very clear that the reason to have an international meeting is to advance the progress of the two parties toward a two-state solution. No one can have a discussion, no one can have a negotiation, in lieu of or in place of the parties. This is something that the parties have to do.

But there can be international efforts to support diplomatically what the parties are doing. There is an active bilateral track now between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas. I am going to Israel and to the Palestinian territories in a couple of days, I guess, after I’m here and in Saudi Arabia, and it’s my intention to see what we can do to stimulate further progress on that bilateral track. Because I think when we get to an international meeting, we want it to be a well-prepared meeting that really does advance progress toward a two-state solution. That is what the President has in mind. That is what we have in mind. There is no reason to call the international community together just to review what has been done. The purpose is to give a spur to future and further progress. And so that’s what we will do.

I said to my colleagues that this conference shouldn’t be thought of as “Made in America.” We will be consulting about how best all of us can make steps to make sure that the meeting is a success.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter) I would like to just add to what the U.S. Secretary of State said. We, in today’s meeting, we have talked about our point of view and what we would like to see as a part of the agenda of that meeting and what kind of outcome we would like to see. We have told her about the results of the visit by the two foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan to Israel and the views that we heard from the Israeli side, and also what we would like to see as happening as an additional American efforts to advance into that direction. And we have emphasized that we would like to see a meeting with an elaborate agenda capable of dealing with the Palestinian issue in a way that would lead to the establishment of the Palestinian state in the very near future.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) (Inaudible) A question to Secretary Rice. What kind of reference are you going to use for the upcoming meetings? Is it going to be the UN Resolution 242? Is it going to be the Arab League? There is an Arab concern that maybe there are new terms of references or there is a change in the Arab League initiative.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you. Well, I think that we can build on the several UN Security Council resolutions and other proposals that have been put forward, other plans that have been put forward. We have, of course, the Arab initiative. We should remember we also have the roadmap that the parties and the region are – and the international community are all agreed to. We have various statements that leaders have made, that Palestinian leaders have made, that Israeli leaders have made. I think we will want to put all of that together to put forward the most positive agenda that we can.

But let me just underscore the purpose again here. We really don’t want to have a meeting for the sake of a meeting. We – it doesn’t make any sense for the President of the United States to ask people to come wherever we ask them to come, which is still yet to be decided, but it doesn’t make sense for the President of the United States to ask people to convene unless we want to use that convention of parties to push the process forward.

There is a lot of work to do between now and then to lay a proper foundation so that the meeting can be a spur to further progress. That began today with the comments that I heard from my interlocutors here. There will be a Quartet meeting sometime probably in the fall. We will probably see each other again at the UNGA. I expect to come back to the region. There is a lot of work to do to make sure that this is an agenda that advances the cause that everyone is looking to, and so that’s what we’re going to be doing for the next few months.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: I would hope that the Quartet’s meeting as it takes place, the Arab working group would have the chance of having an encounter with the Quartet in order to coordinate the work for the coming meeting.

SECRETARY RICE: I know that’s very much wanted by the Quartet as well.

Yes, (Inaudible) --

QUESTION: Hi, this is for the --

SECRETARY RICE: No, it was (Inaudible).

QUESTION: Oh. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: I’ll make this one snappy. Two questions. First to you, sir. Can there be a two-state solution right now while the Palestinian state is essentially split in two? Can you move forward on the peace track?

And then, Madame Secretary, the neighbors agreement has been in place for long enough to, in a sense, judge how some of it’s going. Did you discuss behind closed doors a sort of progress report? Are there some areas where you see more things that need to be done?

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: May I? (Via interpreter) Regarding the question about the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state at a time when we see Palestinians split, I believe that what it is needed is accelerated moves in order to reach the horizon of that state and an agreement between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority regarding this settlement, this settlement that will be presented to the Palestinian people. If we wait, I believe this will have a negative impact on the general situation in dealing with the Palestinian issue. That is one dimension.

The other dimension that we hope that this split within the Palestinian community is a temporary status and there are calls for dialogue, for unification. There are some calls yesterday and through the Arab League foreign ministers meetings. That issue was discussed. And the focus is on the need to bring back the Palestinian legitimacy to Gaza. All these are elements we have to work very hard, but when we are working hard and in (inaudible) we have to work very hard in order to achieve an agreement between the two sides; otherwise, we will be threatening a great deal of what has been achieved during the last two decades or since October ’91 when – after the Madrid conference.

SECRETARY RICE: Yes, in terms of the neighbors conference that took place under the auspices of the Egyptian Government and the UN and the Iraqis, yes, we talked about what we – progress has been made and what is remaining to do. I think the concerns of everyone center around the need to accelerate efforts toward national reconciliation, that the – all parties need to really now throw their weight behind this effort at national reconciliation that the Iraqi leaders are trying to carry out. It means an intensification of their efforts and it means an intensification of the efforts of those who have influence with the Iraqi leaders to make certain that they’re doing everything that they can to get to that point of national reconciliation.

But I would note, too, that there are other obligations that were undertaken that are continuing. For instance, there has been some good work done on border issues with some of the states. There is also work being done on debt relief. There are a number of obligations that were undertaken at the neighbors conference that are being carried out. But I think everybody recognizes that as the security situation will hopefully improve as a result of what the United States and coalition forces are doing to reinforce Iraqi security efforts, that there will be – that the Iraqis will use that space to really press forward on national reconciliation. And we take note of the fact that there are going to be several efforts by Iraqi leaders to get together to try to press that forward over the next month or so, and I think that there was a general agreement that everyone will do what they can to influence those who are part of that effort to be urgent about that – the priority.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) A question to Secretary Rice. There is an Arab belief that when the President Bush announced convening a peace meeting is just a carrot that the United States is throwing at the Arabs in order to send a save face to the United States in Iraq. Do you believe that the United States recognized that it’s in an entanglement and quagmire in Iraq and the meetings that you had today with ministers help you to save you in Iraq?

A meeting to – question to Mr. Aboul Gheit. You have told us what happened in the meeting and you said that the Middle East peace process is up front and is an issue. Secretary Rice said Iraq was among the first issues. How can we deal with this different views?

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: May I answer?

SECRETARY RICE: Sure.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter) In order to answer your question is you’re going to see the statement and the priorities of the statement. I urge you to go back to that statement that we will issue. The statement talks about the Middle East peace process as one issue followed by Iraq, followed by other issues. Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: This is a regional approach, and that means that you address all of the issues of the region. We addressed not only the Middle East peace process and Iraq, we addressed Lebanon, for instance. And so it is extremely important to understand that we, the United States, recognizes that this is a time of challenge and opportunity for the entire region and there are – unless you can address all of the challenges and opportunities, you’re going to miss an opportunity to put this region on a more stable footing going forward. And so one doesn’t have to have a view that you just discuss one thing or just discuss another; you can discuss them all and hope to make progress on all.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Which we did.

SECRETARY RICE: Which we did. You will see that the agenda was quite long and quite extensive.

As to help for the United States, the help is for Iraq. Iraq has a long tradition. It’s a proud Arab nation that has now been liberated from a terrible dictator who started two major wars in this region and who was brutal to his own people. And now the effort is a regional/international one to help the Iraqis achieve a stable and democratic government. And that’s how we see it in the United States. I think that that is how I heard the members of the group today describe their efforts that everyone wants to see an Iraq that is stable and unified. It is in everyone’s interest and it would be against everyone’s interest if that is not the case, but it would be in everyone’s interest if Iraq is indeed stable and unified and moving forward on its democratic enterprise.

The Middle East peace and the Palestinian state is something President Bush talked about in 2001 when he said that it would be American policy to have a two-state solution. That’s long before U.S. forces were in Iraq.

I think we probably need to take maybe one last question. Yeah.

QUESTION: Um --

SECRETARY RICE: No? (Laughter.) It’s right here.

QUESTION: Hi, this is for the Egyptian Foreign Minister. The Iranian Foreign Ministry put out a statement yesterday voicing some alarm about this announcement of all these new weapons packages. I’m curious from your perspective; are you concerned that there could be some blowback from the Iranians as a result of the moves to strengthen the militaries in the Gulf, or do you think this is purely a positive, stabilizing effort?

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: I read the Iranian statement this morning, and in all honesty I was amazed because the military assistance to Egypt has been, as I stated, an earlier relationship that lasted now for the last 25 years. American-Gulf relations and the supply of Gulf states by American weaponry has been also a going concern for so long.

What is needed is stability in the Gulf, and you will see in the statement references aiming at that particular point: stability in the Gulf. The 6+2+1 aims directly to ensure Gulf stability.

SECRETARY RICE: Yes, I have nothing to add. He said it very well.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Okay.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Thank you very much.