Less than a month after assuming office, Prime Minister Rabin travelled to the United States for a meeting with President Bush. The talks were held at the President 's summer house in Kennebunkport, Maine. They ranged on both international, regional and bilateral issues. The major achievement of Israel was the agreement on American loan guarantees up to $10 billion. There were also understandings reached on strategic issues; Israel was termed by President Bush as a strategic partner. The peace process would be re-started in late August in Washington. Discussions were held on the 1993 level of military and economic aid to Israel and joint development of certain projects. Regional threats emanating from Iraq, Iran and Islamic fundamentalism were also dealt with. During his visit to the United States, the prime minister also met with congressional leadership, heads of the Jewish community and the media. Excerpts from remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Rabin follow:
President Bush: I've just spent the best part of the past 24 hours with Prime Minister Rabin, and it has been a true pleasure for Barbara and me to spend this time with the prime minister and Mrs. Rabin. We've known them for many years. As a matter or fact, we're charter members of the former Ambassador's Club, and we could not be happier than to have them visit us here at Kennebunkport, this very special place for me and for my family.
Before I say some more about my hours of conversation with the prime minister, I want to take this opportunity to say a few things about the relationship between the United States and Israel. This is a relationship that goes back more than four decades to Israel's birth in 1948. And this is a relationship that's been tested in times of peace and war; one capable not only of weathering differences, but of accomplishing great things. This is a relationship based on a shared commitment to democracy and to common values, as well as the solid commitment to Israel's security, including its qualitative military edge. This is a special relationship. It is one that is built to endure.
Now, we reviewed a great many issues, often in considerable depth, and I want to begin with the peace process. I will let the prime minister obviously speak for himself, but I do not think he would object to my saying that we agree 100% that our goal goes beyond that of ending the state of war. What we seek is real peace, codified by treaties, [and] characterized by reconciliation and openness, including trade and tourism. And it must be comprehensive peace on all fronts, grounded in UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, born of direct negotiations.
Two weeks from now in Washington, representatives of Israel, along with those of the Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, will resume direct negotiations launched in Madrid last October. And I am optimistic that these talks are about to enter a new, more productive phase.
Prime Minister Rabin has persuaded me that Israel's new government is committed to making these talks succeed. And I call upon the Arab parties to respond in kind. The time has come to make peace, not simply talk of it.
We also spent time discussing the region at large. It is tragic that so much of the history of the Middle East is measured by wars. It's a crime to waste so much of the area's resources - human and material alike - in preparing for wars or waging them. And it is time these resources were committed to meeting the needs of people. We thus committed ourselves to work to stem the proliferation of conventional arms as well as weapons of mass destruction. And we agreed to work together on behalf of the multilateral process begun in Moscow earlier this year to promote progress between Israel and her neighbors on issues ranging from water, the environment, economic development, to refugees and security.
The prime minister and I focused as well on the international situation, and we agreed that the world must seize the historic opportunity created by reform in Russia and the other newly independent states. We agreed, too, that the world must act to bring to an end this humanitarian nightmare that now exists in what was Yugoslavia.
The prime minister and I also devoted a good deal of time to bilateral issues. And let me say that it's a source of considerable satisfaction to me to look back on all that has been accomplished just over the last few years. With the assistance of the United States, Israel has been able to take major strides in breaking out of its diplomatic isolation. Israel no longer is stigmatized so unfairly by a UN resolution equating Zionism with racism.
Literally hundreds of thousands of Jews from Ethiopia and from the former Soviet Union now make their homes in Israel, and this, more than anything else, is what the Jewish state is all about.
And in this regard, I am extremely pleased to announce that we were able to reach agreement on the basic principles to govern the granting of up to $10 billion in loan guarantees. I've long been committed to supporting Israel in the historic task of absorbing immigrants, and I'm delighted that the prime minister and I have agreed to an approach which will assist these new Israelis without frustrating the search for peace.
We can thus pursue these two humanitarian goals at one and the same time. And I look forward to sitting down with the congressional leadership and recommending to them that Congress take swift action on authorizing up to $10 billion in loan guarantees to facilitate Israeli absorption of immigrants. Together with the economic reforms the new Israeli Government is committed to, I am confident that these loan guarantees can make a considerable contribution -a critical contribution - to Israel's future. And I would hope that other governments with the means to do so would also consider extending loan guarantees for this purpose.
I'd like to say one more thing about my time with the prime minister. The meetings were important for what we discussed, but they were also significant for the tone of the discussions. Our time together can best be described as a consultation between close friends and strategic partners, one characterized by trust, warmth, and a commitment to meeting these common challenges. And this is strategic cooperation at its very best.
And so, again, let me just end these remarks by saying how much we've enjoyed having the Rabins visit us at our home here and now, speaking for all Americans, how much we hope the prime minister and his wife will be regular visitors to the United States of America.
Prime Minister Rabin: ... Mr. President, let me first thank you wholeheartedly for the kind and warm hospitality bestowed by Mrs. Bush and yourself on my wife and me, as well as our colleagues. It has been a real pleasure to spend with you, with Secretary Baker, General Scowcroft, and your other colleagues this highly pleasant day. We really appreciate it.
I would also like to thank you for your kind words this morning. Our exchange of views here included a great number of subjects, both of general character, dealing with international issues and concerns, [and] specific bilateral matters. It was done in a constructive and friendly atmosphere for which we are grateful.
I would like to allude, first, to the human tragedy in Bosnia. We, the Jewish people, having suffered persecution throughout history, can never remain indifferent to such tragedies. The killing must stop. And I know that the United States is now making great efforts toward a solution there. We, on our part, are trying to contribute as much as we can in humanitarian aid. Let us hope that those tortured people will find peace.
Mr. President, as you kindly indicated, the basis of the relationship between Israel and the United States is the unshakable foundation of shared values and hopes. Our joint commitment to democracy and to freedom stands as a permanent, solid rock on which a very special relationship is built.
This relationship, which has seen occasional temporary differences ... include[s] our strategic cooperation among other important links developed over many years. We have both reiterated our mutual desire to continue those links, facing the challenges that lie ahead.
Mr. President, we live through troubled times, reflected also in our region. We have supported, since the beginning of the Gulf crisis, the United States and your policy against Saddam Hussein's brutal aggression. The strong approach taken by the United States during the war greatly contributed to the regional sense of security and made a positive contribution to Israel's security as well.
We continue to support a determined policy toward still-existing dangers. We are committed together, Mr. President, to the pursuit of peace in our region. The new Government in Israel, which I'm privileged to head, will do its utmost to promote the peacemaking efforts begun and co-sponsored by the United States under the Madrid framework. This framework has been structured to a great extent on the basis of the Camp David Accords and took into consideration many of Israel's desires.
On our part, we shall do our best to inject new momentum into the negotiations, both in the bilateral and the multilateral spheres. We shall do so as much as we can on a continued basis while, of course, scrupulously preserving Israel's security against all threats.
We will be glad to attend the coming round of the bilateral negotiations in Washington later this month and through much of the next months. We look forward to fruitful negotiations with the Jordanian-Palestinian delegation as well as with the Syrian and the Lebanese delegation. It is our hope that our counterparts will share our goodwill and openness. The chances for a better, peaceful future are there. Let us all take advantage of them. We also took forward to the multilateral negotiations starting anew in September.
Mr. President, I would like on behalf of my country to express to the United States and to you, personally, our gratitude for your support to opening the gates of the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia for the immigration of our brethren who so wished to [go to] their homeland, Israel. This role will not be forgotten.
In the same spirit, the United States has supported the idea of absorption of these immigrants, enabling them to achieve appropriate housing and employment and rebuild their lives. Your decision now to submit to the Congress a proposed legislation concerning the loan guarantees is a significant step in this direction.
We, on our part, are determined to improve our national security toward [a] more efficient and privatized system for this and other goals that must be achieved. We have also announced in the basic guidelines of our Government a change in the national priorities toward this direction.
We shall also carry as much as possible of the burden - of the financial burden of the guarantees so as to lessen any cost to the American taxpayer. But your readiness to extend it following our discussions means a lot to me and to Israel. And again, thank you very much.