Downing Street Says » Middle East

Asked how the Prime Minister thought he could help, the PMOS said that if people looked at the Prime Minister’s speech in Los Angeles it set out a strategic analysis of why the Prime Minister believed we had to try to deal with Lebanon and why we had to begin the process of trying to get back to making progress in Palestine. It was important to do this despite the very real anger and concern surrounding the issue this summer from all side. In his visit to the region shortly the Prime Minister did not anticipate immediately moving into anything like detailed discussion or negotiations. It would be about assessing where things were and examining preliminary processes of trying to find a way to get back to that type of discussion. It would not be about setting dates or detailed processes. If people looked at what the Prime Minister had consistently said on the Middle East over the years he had a position that was for the good of the Middle East.

Asked to comment on the article in The Independent about the terrible things happening in a now neglected Gaza and that the Prime Minister would not be welcomed by some in the West Bank, the PMOS said that we were amongst the biggest donors to the Palestinians. We were helping them in very practical ways and would continue to do so. We were also very well aware, and had been thinking long and hard for many years with others, about how we built up the key infrastructure in Palestine. This was part of what we believed was important and these practical steps were continuing despite not often making the headlines. Of course some people in the region were very angry and we acknowledged that. Some would even be angry with us and we acknowledged that. Others, in Israel and in the region, held the reverse view. Underneath that anger we believed there was also recognition amongst the political leadership, and the Prime Minister had spoken with all sides throughout, of the need to get back to the political process. This trip would not see a big step forward on the peace process negotiations, but it would allow us to make an assessment of what was the best way to try and go about that process.

Asked who had invited the Prime Minister to the region, the PMOS said that he would not speak for others or put people in difficult positions or even put words in their mouths, as that was not helpful. He could, however, repeat what we had said throughout, which was that throughout the conflict the Prime Minister had spoken on a regular basis not only to people in Israel, but also to the Prime Minister of Lebanon and leaders of other countries and groups throughout the region. We were very clear that they believed that it was worthwhile at this stage otherwise we would not be going. We were equally clear that this was a preliminary exercise and not anything more. This was why we were being completely open about what it was we were trying to achieve. Put that the Prime Minister had said in his last press conference when challenged about not being popular out there that people said different things in public than in private and was that implicit in what he had just said, the PMOS said that what the Prime Minister and the PMOS had said were entirely consistent.

The Prime Minister had not named names and neither had he. At the height of the conflict people believed it was worthwhile speaking to the Prime Minister and those people now believed it was worthwhile for him to visit the region. It was more important to go and carry out the business than get distracted by that kind of question. The Prime Minister would not be coming out with some grand announcement; he was much more in interested hearing and reflecting in the assessment of those on the ground.

Asked what the position would be with regard to Hezbollah, the PMOS said that he would not talk about what type of meetings would be happening until the appropriate time. We had said all along that Hezbollah and other such groups had to make a choice between pursuing a democratic path or pursuing a paramilitary path.

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» Friday, September 8, 2006

Middle East

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