Statement by Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami and Javier Solana,
EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy,
following their meeting
Jerusalem, December 11, 2000
FM Ben-Ami: I would like to welcome Mr. Javier Solana and my friend
Mr. Moratinus for this meeting where I briefed Mr. Solana on the
state of the question here with regard to his mission. He has, in
fact, a double mission: he is a member of the fact-finding
commission, but at the same time he is responsible for the foreign
policy and security policy of the European Union. We touched base
with the situation on these two dimensions. Mr. Solana has an
important role to play in this part of the world as a key member of
the European Union leadership, so we most warmly welcome him, and our
friend Moratinus has been here doing throughout all his very best to
contribute to bringing together Israelis and Palestinians.
Even though we are in an electoral period, it is our intention and
our determination to pursue the peace process. The peace process was
not born out of political considerations, and it will continue
regardless of any political conditions that may prevail in this
country. The peace process is a strategic objective of the State of
the Israel, hence it remains our essential policy.
Mr. Solana: Thank you very much. I'd like to say that for me it's a
great pleasure to be back here in Jerusalem - it's not the first time
and will not be the last - and to have the opportunity of talking
with my old friend Shlomo Ben-Ami. I would like tell you that we are
all committed to bringing peace in whatever way we can, and in
whatever manner we can, we will try to do it. Europe also has a
strategic wish to have peace in the region, and, as I told the
minister today, we are prepared to help as much as necessary in order
to obtain the objective of peace.
I will be working also in the fact-finding commission, which to me is
a commission that has to look to the future, to see how we can help
to analyze the condition and make suggestions so that the type of
events that have taken place in the last two months will not happen
again. This is our wish. The commission is not a tribunal. the
commission is a political decision taken at Sharm el-Sheikh in order
to analyze the situation with the two parties and see if we can make
recommendations for the future. This is the aim and the spirit in
which we are coming here now for the first time. We don't want to be
part of the problem, we want to be part of the solution to the
problem.
The whole commission will be here today. We will meet with Mr. Barak
for 3 or 4 hours, we'll see Mr. Arafat in the afternoon, and then
we'll go to see the leaders of the region. We'll be in Cairo, and
we'll be in Amman, and that will be the first contact that we will
have with the region formally, and then we'll see how we'll continue.
Today is just the first touching base with the leaders of Israel and
the Palestinians, with the leaders of the regions. At the end of the
work, which will be the end of March, we will produce a report which
will be presented to the President of the United States, then to the
parties. the parties will have to make their comments, and then we'll
finalize the work.
All the leaders are fighting for peace, they are battling for peace
and to have it as soon as possible, and for that we are going to
cooperate as much as possible. there's no other solution than peace,
and I hope this will take place.