In a lengthy meeting, Foreign Minister Levy spelled out to his visitors the recent moves in the peace process as well as Israel's approach to certain key issues and its relations with a number of Arab countries. He was not yet aware that on that day, the United States had decided to suspend the current round of Israel-Syria talks citing fundamental differences that still prevailed over procedural matters. Text of the Foreign Ministry statement on the Israel-EU talks follows as well as highlights from FM Levy's remarks:
Foreign Minister David Levy met this morning (17.1.2000) with his colleague from Portugal, Mr. Jaima Gama, the President of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, together with Secretary-General Javier Solana, Special Envoy Miguel Moratinos and other Commission officials. In the meeting, Minister Levy briefed the guests about progress on the various tracks of the peace process. The two sides also discussed ways of cooperation between Israel and the EU.
FM Levy said that the negotiations with Syria will renew this week and stressed that success in the talks is dependent on the good will of both sides. He expressed his hope that Lebanon will join the process as well, and added that Israel is determined to leave southern Lebanon even without an agreement.
Levy reported on the progress of the negotiations with the Palestinians and on the implementation of the Sharm Memorandum, and said that the future of the peace between the two peoples requires joint cooperation against terrorism and the prevention of incitement and hate. Likewise, Levy briefed the guests on the state of relations with Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco - from which he recently returned.
Minister Gama congratulated Israel on the steps taken in the peace process, and stressed Europe's desire to assist the process in real terms such as regional development and water. He said that this dialogue is proof of the new phase in EU-Israel relations, which opened in the course of Mr. Levy's visit to the Council of Ministers in Luxembourg last October.
Following are the main points made by Mr. Levy:
Syria-Lebanon
We have renewed the negotiations with Syria after a hiatus of many years, and following difficulties that have delayed the resumption of talks. For years now, we have been unable to accept the demands of the Syrians, according to which we were to accept Syrian preconditions prior to the start of negotiations. The first meeting, within the framework of the resumption of talks, took place in a cool atmosphere, but in the second meeting, we were able to hold constructive talks, to formulate an agenda and to define the issues for discussion. I hope that the Syrians understand that any delay at this stage will be undesirable, and will not serve their interests.
We hope that negotiations with Lebanon will begin in the near future. Talks with Lebanon must not be postponed for any reason. The Lebanon problem is a serious one, and we are determined to withdraw from there, as we have already declared. We wish to withdraw from Lebanon within the framework of an agreement, but in the absence of such an agreement, we will still withdraw, while taking steps to maintain our security.
It is in our interest to achieve a genuine peace with Syria and Lebanon, and we have an opportunity that must not be missed. Peace will open up new horizons for all the parties, and will bring about a new and constructive environment leading to development and prosperity for all the peoples of the region. We are confident in ourselves and we believe in the pursuit of peace. We have not adopted this path out of weakness or fear, but rather out of a recognition that this is the only way to ensure a better future for ourselves and for the region.
The Palestinian track is progressing in a satisfactory manner. We are implementing what was agreed upon in the various parts of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum: the territorial sphere, the Gaza Port issue, the safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank involving the movement of thousands of people and vehicles, and we are expecting the opening of an additional passage (the northern passage) as well as the implementation of further measures. In short, a new reality of co-existence is taking shape - a reality involving 100,000 Palestinians who are already trading and working in Israel.
The negotiations with the Palestinians are talks held between partners who seek progress and who wish to identify solutions to difficult problems on the agenda, even if there are occasional disagreements. The meetings between the leaders are not only held during crisis situations, but they take place on an ongoing basis, with the aim of reaching a
Final Status Framework Agreement during February. In addition to the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum and the desire to achieve a Framework Agreement, we are working with the Palestinians on an ongoing basis in two central and important areas:
The Fight Against Terrorism
Promoting an environment conducive to peace: we have reiterated our demand that the Palestinian leadership speaks to its people in the same manner as it speaks to us. We will not accept double-talk, whereby the Palestinian leadership says one thing to its own people and another thing to Israel and the rest of the world. We have also repeated our call for an end to the diplomatic warfare waged against us from international forums. The Palestinians must understand that as partners to the peace process with Israel, they must change their conduct and style of diplomacy.
Jordan
The relations between Israel and Jordan are good and they are developing. The visit of the Jordanian Foreign Minister to Israel constituted an important element of the ongoing dialogue between us. We are continuing to supply Jordan with 50 million cubic meters of water, as undertaken in our agreement with Jordan, in spite of the severe water shortage and the 40 percent cutbacks in water allocations for Israeli farmers.
Egypt
We can point to a recent improvement in our ties, and in the dialogue between the Israeli and Egyptian readerships, with a particular emphasis on the peace process.
Morocco
I have just returned from a positive and encouraging trip to Morocco, where I met with the King of Morocco, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. The visit received extensive media coverage there. We decided to establish joint committees in a number of areas, and training courses for Moroccans.
Additional Arab States
We are also seeking to develop relations with other Arab countries, such as Tunisia, Oman and Qatar. A delegation from Oman arrived in Israel two weeks ago, and recently, I enjoyed a constructive meeting with the Foreign Minister of Qatar.
Iran - Iraq - Libya
I feel that there is a desire to progress in the peace process between Israel and the Arab countries, but we should also remember that there are other countries opposed to any reconciliation with Israel.
Iran continues to declare its opposition to the peace process, while investing efforts and resources in the hope of undermining the process, through support of terrorist organizations and by other means.