[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[June 8, 2002]
[Pages 948-953]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
The President's News Conference With President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt at Camp David, Maryland
June 8, 2002
President Bush. Mr. President, thank you. Welcome to Camp David. It
is a joy for me and Laura to have you here at this beautiful part of our
country, a place where we like to come and relax and a place where we
like to welcome our friends.
We had a--the President and I had a good dinner last night. We
talked a lot about our mutual concerns, opportunities to make the world
a more peaceful place. And we got up and had a good private visit and
then met with our delegations.
First, I want to thank the President of Egypt for his country's
strong support in our war against terror. I know there's been a lot of
focus on, obviously, the Middle East, and I'll mention that in a second,
but we're still in a war against people who want to harm America and
people who want to harm Egypt. And we've had--we've got a good friend,
Americans have a good friend, when it comes to this war on terror, in
Egypt.
The President understands that we've got a long way to go in order
to be successful. He's now been told again by me that my most important
job is to secure our homeland, and this country is plenty tough and
plenty patient and plenty determined to achieve that objective.
Obviously, we spent time talking about the Middle East, and we share
a common vision of two states living side by side in peace. And I
appreciated so very much his--listening to his ideas as to how to
achieve that objective, that grand goal. The world--the Palestinians
hurt, and I know that. And my concern is for the Palestinian people. And
my view is, is that if the Palestinian people have a government that is
transparent and open and willing to serve the people, Israel will be
better off, Egypt will be better off, America will be better off, and
we're more likely to achieve peace. And we discussed how to achieve
those objectives.
The President of Egypt has had a lot of experience, and I appreciate
his experience, and I appreciate his advice. Anytime he is willing to
give it, I'm willing to listen. And so, Mr. President, I want to thank
you for your time, and I appreciate your
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friendship, and welcome you to Camp David.
President Mubarak. Thank you very much for that. I will deliver my
speech in Arabic language.
President Bush. He's going to speak in Arabic. That's good. The
American press----
President Mubarak. I would like to thank President Bush for his
welcoming remarks, which reflects the deep friendship between us. During
our stay at Camp David here, I conducted extensive discussions with
President Bush on a range of issues of mutual concern, most important of
which was the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, and especially
the Palestinian-Israeli track and its negative impact on regional and
international security in general.
There is no doubt that the peace process in the Middle East is
passing through a critical junction which requires us to exert all
possible efforts on the political and security tracks, to rebuild the
confidence between the parties, on one hand, and to relaunch a serious
political negotiations aimed at final settlement on the other.
While Egypt's leading quest for peace in the Middle East has
achieved its objectives here at Camp David 24 years ago, we have come
back together today fully committed to exert our maximum efforts once
again, so that peace and security may prevail in the Middle East region.
And I must affirm here that your personal role, Mr. President, and the
role of the United States today remains as important as was America's
contribution towards reaching the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel
more than two decades ago. And we look forward to the continuation of
the effective role.
The entire international community, ladies and gentlemen, has
supported the courageous vision of peace in the Middle East put forward
by President Bush in his speech before the United Nations last fall.
This vision was adopted by the Security Council in its Resolution 1397,
which affirmed that peace in the Middle East must be based on two
states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side. We in Egypt and the
entire Arab world support this vision and strongly believe that it
represents the only way to achieve progress towards the settlement of
the conflict.
Now it is time to move to implement our common vision in an
effective and systematic way. And we have a strong foundation to
implement that vision, and that is represented in the principles adopted
by the Madrid peace conference and supported by the initiative adopted
by the Arab League summit conference in Beirut, which affirmed Arab
rights while responding to all Israeli concerns. These are the terms of
references that should govern all future efforts.
For us to be able to achieve this vision, the confidence that was
lost between the two parties during the previous period must be rebuilt
as we embark on serious political negotiations that will contribute to
the realization of our objectives. In this context, Israel must: End the
siege imposed on the Palestinian people and withdraw its forces to
positions occupied on September 28, 2000; and halt assassinations and
the repeated incursions in the territories under the control of the
Palestinian Authority; and immediately halt all settlement activities in
the occupied territories, including the illegal confiscation of land and
expansion of settlements under the pretext of natural growth or any
other consideration.
At the same time, the Palestinian Authority must continue to
intensify its efforts towards restructuring in a way that facilitates
the better performance of its functions based on the principles of
transparency and trust, in preparation for the establishment of its
sovereign, independent state. The Palestinian Authority must continue in
its firm implementation of President Arafat's decisive commitment to
halt the violence and intensify the security cooperation and
coordination under the supervision of the United States.
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It also falls upon all of us, as partners in peace, to work towards
alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people, through economic
and humanitarian assistance, so as to remove the feeling of despair that
stands in the way of reaching the desired settlement.
Mr. President, Egypt and the Arab states have affirmed their
condemnation and rejection of the use of force and violence against
civilians. Egypt has also affirmed its commitment to continue its major
role in the search for peace. At the same time, the United States has
affirmed, by putting forward this clear vision for peace, its commitment
to effectively play its role in its capacity as the main sponsor of the
peace process.
We look forward to a strong American engagement in the coming phase
to implement this vision, in the context of an agreed timeframe and
through negotiations on a permanent settlement that should lead to the
establishment of a Palestinian state on the entire West Bank and Gaza
and East Jerusalem. For the settlement to be just and comprehensive,
Israel must withdraw from all the Arab territories occupied during 1967,
including Syrian and Lebanese territories.
While pursuing our efforts, it must be kept in mind that there are
forces that lack the conviction of our joint vision and will continue to
obstruct our efforts to move towards a final and a comprehensive
settlement. The way to confront the enemies of peace is to move forward
with courage and determination to renew hope to the Palestinians and
Israeli peoples in the future in which prosperity and stability prevail
and away from the menace of violence and confrontation.
My meeting here today with President Bush has reaffirmed our joint
determination to revive the hopes of peace through the longstanding
partnership between our two countries and through which we have and will
continue together to reach historic achievements on the path of peace
between Arabs and Israelis for the benefit of the peoples of the region
and also for the benefit of regional and international stability.
The depth of Egyptian-American relations represents one of the
essential cornerstones in our joint pursuit of peace and stability in
the Middle East. In this context, we discussed today means to strengthen
our bilateral ties, including our trade and economic relations, so as to
reinforce Egypt's ability to implement its plans for economic reform and
to guide us toward a more balanced trade relationship between us.
Our meeting today coincides with a visit by the United States Trade
Representative, Mr. Robert Zoellick, to Egypt, to meet with his
counterparts on the Egyptian side, which I hope that it will result in
tangible progress in furthering our relationships to new heights.
Mr. President, I look forward to working with you in the weeks and
months ahead to chart the correct path on the road to peace, so that we
can complete together the implementation of the mission that we have
started together here at Camp David more than 20 years ago to achieve
just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East. I am
confident that our joint efforts, supported by a solid determination,
will lead us to achieve this goal in the near future.
Thank you.
President Bush. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you.
Q. President Bush----
President Bush. Hold on a second, please. We'll answer two questions
apiece, two from the American side, two from the Egyptian side. I'm
going to call on the American first. If you don't mind, contain your
questions to one of us, if that's possible. And we'll start with Mr.
Fournier [Ron Fournier, Associated Press], who I know--I know will
adhere to that rule. [Laughter]
Ron Fournier.
Q. Mr. President----
President Bush. Thank you.
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Timetable for a Palestinian State
Q. Do you agree with President Mubarak that there needs to be a
deadline for a Palestinian state to give the Palestinian people hope?
And on the other hand, I want to know if President Mubarak--the reforms
of the Palestinian Authority that you say--that President Bush says will
give the Israelis hope, can they be done with Arafat still in charge?
President Bush. See, it's hard to reform the press. [Laughter] It
may be harder to reform the press than to implement the needed reforms
in the Palestinian territories. Your first question was?
Q. Do you agree with President Mubarak that there needs to be a
deadline----
President Bush. Yes. Here's the timetable I have in mind. We need to
start immediately in building the institutions necessary for the
emergence of a Palestinian state which, on the one hand, will give hope
to the Palestinian people and, on the other hand, say to the world,
including the neighborhood, that there is a chance to defeat--to live in
peace, to defeat terror. And that's important.
I also agree with the President of Egypt that, as we discussed the
development of institutions necessary to provide hope and security in
the region, that we've got to be talking about a political--have a
political dialog. Part of the consultation process that we are having is
to determine what's feasible in terms of that political dialog, what's
feasible in terms of the timetable that a lot of people are anxious to
talk about. We're not ready to lay down a specific calendar, except for
the fact we need to get started quickly, soon, so that we can seize the
moment.
And one of the things I'm most appreciative about, about the--about
the progress made to date is, people now understand they have
responsibilities. As I said in my April 4th speech, I talked about the
responsibilities necessary to achieve a vision of peace. And President
Mubarak has shown that he is accepting responsibility. He's very much
involved in this process, and he's very much anxious that we work
together to achieve that which is necessary and, to put it in his words,
to come up with an effective and systematic way to get to the vision
that we've--that I've outlined.
President Mubarak. What's your second question, please?
Reform of the Palestinian Authority
Q. I just want to know whether those Palestinian reforms that
President Bush says have to happen first, can they be done, sir, in your
opinion, by Yasser Arafat?
President Mubarak. Look, we should give this man a chance. We are
working very hard in cooperation with the United States for the reform
in the Palestinian Authority. Such a chance will prove that he is going
to deliver or not. If he's going to deliver, I think everybody will
support him. If he's not going to deliver, his people will tell him
that.
Q. President Bush----
President Bush. The President gets to decide what member from the
Egyptian press corps----
President Mubarak. Yes.
Q. President Bush----
President Bush. Good going. He selected you. [Laughter]
Israeli Settlements
Q. Right. Nihal Saad, from Egyptian Television. Thank you for giving
me the floor. It has been the stand of successive American
administrations that the settlements, the Israeli settlements, is an
obstacle to peace. But ever since Prime Minister Sharon came to office,
there has been a steep increase in the settlements by almost 40 percent.
Now, what is the stand of your administration concerning the settlement
building, and what message would you tell the Israeli Government
concerning that issue?
President Bush. Well, on April 4th I delivered the speech that I'm
talking about,
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that I would hope you'd review what I said. I said, all parties have got
responsibilities to achieve peace, including the Israelis. And Israel
must work to create the conditions necessary to achieve peace. And my
position hasn't changed since that speech.
Adam [Adam Entous, Reuters].
Reform of the Palestinian Authority
Q. Thank you. Mr. President--President Bush, are you confident you
will get support from Arab leaders for reaching beyond Yasser Arafat to
other Palestinian representatives?
President Bush. Look, Adam, here's what I'm confident about. I'm
confident about the--Arab leaders understand the need for us to develop
the institutions necessary for a peaceful and hopeful state to emerge.
Chairman Arafat, as far as I'm concerned,
is not the issue. The issue is whether or not the Palestinian people can
have a hopeful future. I have constantly said I am disappointed in his
leadership. I think he's let the Palestinian people down. And so,
therefore, my focus is on the reforms necessary to help the
Palestinians.
The President believes that the Chairman--
if you notice, he didn't say he's going to deliver--should be given a
chance to deliver. And that's an interesting point of view. I also
happen to believe that there is plenty of talent in--amongst the
Palestinians, and that if we develop the institutions necessary for the
development of a state, that talent will emerge.
The issue is bigger than one person. The issue is an issue that
really deals with people who suffer and people who have no hope. And I
believe--I believe it is in the Palestinians' interest to have an
independent state, at peace with its neighbor, and I believe it's in
Israel's interest. Otherwise, I would not have taken this position.
Last question.
Halting Middle East Violence
Q. President Mubarak--my question is addressed for President
Mubarak. And I want to have a comment from Mr. President Bush, if you
please. My name is Hanaa Simery, from the Egyptian Television, and my
question is, is it realistic to ask for a complete halt of violence
between the Palestinians and Israelis as a precondition for resuming any
political negotiations?
President Mubarak. Me or you?
President Bush. I don't care. Who would you like to answer it?
Q. Both of you.
President Bush. Both of us, okay.
President Mubarak. Both of us, on the same question. All right----
President Bush. Maybe we'll give the same answer. [Laughter]
President Mubarak. I think we have the experience, since the Prime
Minister took office, that he will never start the negotiation unless
violence could come to an end--even that before Prime Minister Sharon.
Till now violence didn't stop, and I don't think the violence will come
to an end unless the people feel that there is hope for peace and there
is something to show that peace is coming. If they didn't feel that,
they will not stop violence; it will continue forever.
President Bush. My attitude about violence is this: People have
responsibilities to do everything they can to stop violence. Chairman
Arafat must do everything in his power to stop
the violence, to stop the attacks on Israel--I mean everything. And that
includes reforming the security forces so that they are--their primary
function is to deal with violence.
The Arab world must work hard to defeat terror and violence. My
opening comments were sincere about the President of Egypt; he's working
hard to defeat violence and terror. And so the one thing I'm certain of
is that we've all got to focus a lot of energy and attention on stopping
violence, not only in the Middle East but all around the world.
See, there are terrorists who would love to destroy any peace
process, and we have
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the responsibility to prevent them from doing so. And that means working
all the time to stop it from happening. There are people who hate
freedom, and they'll use terror to destroy innocent lives to achieve
evil objectives.
And all of us--that's what I'm certain about--all of us must work--
I'm certain if we don't work together and assume our responsibilities,
it's going to be hard to win the war on terror. I'm certain if we stay
focused and tough and resolute, we can win the war on terror. And as we
remain tough, we're going to be able to achieve peace in parts of the
world where people have kind of said there's no chance for peace, and
it's not just in the Middle East--not just in the Middle East.
Thank you all very much for coming.
President Mubarak. Good job. Thank you.
President Bush. Good job.
Note: The President's news conference began at 10:32 a.m. outside Holly
Cabin. President Mubarak's opening remarks were in Arabic, and his
remarks were translated by an interpreter. In his remarks, President
Bush referred to Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority.
President Mubarak referred to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel.