By Arun Kumar, IANS
Annapolis (Maryland) : US President George W. Bush Tuesday opened a meeting of over 40 nations including India aimed at ultimately creating a Palestine state living in peace with Israel, but said it would not be easy to do so.
“If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago,” said the president as he resumed after seven years of efforts to bring peace to the Middle East with the meeting here at the US Naval Academy, about 50 km from Washington.
But “I believe that now is precisely the right time to begin these negotiations” to pursue a Middle East peace settlement for three reasons, he said with the two key players, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas listening.
The two leaders, whom he also met shortly before opening the conference, also expressed optimism about the efforts to end 60 years of conflict between Palestine and Israel. Participants include 16 Arab nations, two other major actors, Syria and Saudi Arabia among them.
“First, the time is right because Palestinians and Israelis have leaders who are determined to achieve peace,” Bush said. “Second, the time is right because a battle is under way for the future of the Middle East and we must not cede victory to the extremists. Third, the time is right because the world understands the urgency of supporting these negotiations.
“Our purpose here in Annapolis is not to conclude an agreement,” said the president who is keen to bring about a settlement, a task in which many of his predecessors have failed, before he leaves office in January 2009.
“Rather, it is to launch negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. For the rest of us, our job is to encourage the parties in this effort – and to give them the support they need to succeed,” he said.
“In light of recent developments, some have suggested that now is not the right time to pursue peace. I disagree.” Bush said.
India’s Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal and the prime minister’s special envoy for West Asia, Chinmoy Gharekhan, were among those who heard Bush and the two principal actors speak at the inaugural.
Sibal is expected to outline India’s views at a plenary session of the conference hosted by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice Tuesday afternoon.
“Today, Palestinians and Israelis each understand that helping the other to realise their aspirations is the key to realising their own, and both require an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state,” Bush said.
“Such a state will provide Palestinians with the chance to lead lives of freedom, purpose and dignity. And such a state will help provide Israelis with something they have been seeking for generations: to live in peace with their neighbours,” he said.
Bush said the purpose of Annapolis is to not only restart talks, but also gain support from the Arab world and the international community.
No one expects a historic breakthrough at Annapolis, but Israeli and Palestinian officials said they were close to agreement on a document that would outline the peace goals to follow the conference.
Rice has been working with the chief negotiators from each side to hammer out a document about how to move forward on what are known as “final-status issues” – Jerusalem, borders, security and Palestinian refugees. Both sides were “converging” on a document, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday.
Bush’s national security adviser Stephen Hadley has said he expected both sides to recommit to a 2003 “road map” which provides benchmarks that include a cessation of Jewish settlement in the West Bank occupied by Israel in a 1967 war as well as a Palestinian crackdown on militants.