[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 37 (Monday, September 20, 1993)]
[Pages 1741-1744]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With the Arab News Media on the Middle East Peace Process

 September 13, 1993

    Q. Mr. President, thank you very much for this chance to speak to 
the Arab nation and Arabic television through NBC television on this 
very historic day. What would you like to say to the Arab world at the--
--
    The President. I would like to say that I hope all the people in the 
Arab world will support this agreement. It is the beginning of a new 
relationship not only between Israel and the PLO and the Palestinians, 
but I hope it will lead to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. And 
if that occurs, it would mean a whole range of presently unimaginable 
opportunities for the nations of the Middle East to work together and 
for the United States to work with all of them and for us to work 
together to help people in other parts of the world who are troubled and 
need our help.
    Q. You pledged during the signing ceremony your full support for the 
peace process in the Middle East. How involved are you prepared to stay 
in this process?
    The President. Extremely involved. After the ceremony I met for a 
few moments with Mr. Arafat. And then I came back here and had a quick 
meal with Prime Minister Rabin. And I told both of them clearly that I 
wanted to begin immediately to help to implement the peace accord. I 
think the United States can help them in the practical ways to shore up 
the political decisions that have to be made. I think that clearly we 
can assist in raising funds necessary to carry this out. I believe that 
we can continually reassure the people of Israel about their security. 
And they must feel more secure in this in order to go forward. And 
again, I hope that over the long run we can fulfill the objective of a 
comprehensive peace.
    Q. Mr. President, you spoke recently to President Asad of Syria and 
King Hussein of Jordan. Are you hopeful of any breakthrough on the 
Jordanian, Syrian tracks?
    The President. Of course. As a practical matter, I think it's easier 
now for a breakthrough on the Jordanian track. And I would hope that 
would come quickly. But I believe we'll have continued and very serious 
nego- 

[[Page 1742]]

tiations with Syria coming out of this process. And I believe that over 
time the parties will come together. We're going to have to focus now on 
getting this agreement implemented and on making sure that the parties 
affected by this agreement feel secure in it.
    Q. Mr. President, any Palestinian entity that might come up as a 
result of this agreement is going to be pretty expensive to establish 
and even more expensive to maintain. How far can you help in the 
establishment of such an entity, and how do you plan to fund it?
    The President. Well, first of all, there has to be an economic 
committee established under the agreement. And they will presumably be 
able to give us all some guidance about exactly how we should channel 
funds. But I have spoken and my Secretary of State has spoken with many 
nations. I think if you look at the foreign ministers who came today--
the Foreign Minister of Japan came all the way from Tokyo to be here 
today. The Japanese, the Western Europeans, the Scandinavians, the Gulf 
states, all have expressed an interest in supporting this. King Fahd of 
Saudi Arabia told me in particular that he thought that the cause of 
peace required his nation to support this effort. And of course, the 
United States will support it.
    Q. So you are satisfied with the support you got from leaders?
    The President. So far, I'm eminently satisfied. But we have to work 
out the details, you know, how much money do we need when, for what 
purposes, who's going to give in what order. I mean, all these details 
still have to be worked out.
    Q. Talking about King Fahd, how important is the Saudi role in the 
future of the peace process?
    The President. Well, I think it's quite critical not only because 
the Saudis are willing to contribute financially but because they have 
been friends of the United States. They have been somewhat estranged 
from the PLO in the aftermath of the Gulf war. I think that their 
involvement is a part of the overall healing that I see coming out of 
this and what I hope will be an increasing solidarity among the Arab 
peoples.
    Q. During these recent telephone calls with leaders of the Gulf, did 
you get any guarantees on lifting the embargo on Israel?
    The President. No. But I didn't ask for them in this conversation. I 
told them I would be back to them on that. I have discussed it obviously 
with many of the leaders in the past. I do believe it is a logical step 
to take in the fairly near future. But I think the first and most 
important thing was to secure their support for this agreement.
    Q. Arabs are asking, Mr. President, that the United States has been 
paying billions of dollars to Israel over the years; will you be willing 
to divert some of the aid to a new Palestinian entity?
    The President. Well, I think that that's not the question. The real 
question is not whether we should divert from our support for Israel. 
Keep in mind, all the progress yet to be made depends upon the 
conviction of the people of Israel that they are secure and that making 
peace makes them more secure. So I don't think anyone in the Arab world 
should want me to do anything that makes the Israelis feel less secure. 
And I have no intention of doing that. But I do intend to support 
financially the development of an economic infrastructure for the 
Palestinians and their self-rule. And I also intend to ask many other 
nations to contribute. And I think the United States clearly will be 
taking the initiative on that.
    Q. There will be even more Israeli security concerns when it comes 
to a deal with the Syrians, that's if the Israelis decide to withdraw 
from the Golan Heights. What security guarantees are you prepared to 
give both sides?
    The President. Well, first of all, let's get this agreement 
implemented. Let's start on that. And let's see what the Israelis and 
the Lebanese and the Syrians decide to do in their continuing 
discussions. I think we should focus on and savor this moment. I have 
made it clear to President Asad, Prime Minister Harawi, to Prime 
Minister Rabin, to everyone that I was committed to continuing this 
process until we achieve comprehensive peace. But I don't think we ought 
to jump the gun. We are now in this moment, and we ought to focus on it 
and sort out our responsibilities to implement this agreement.

[[Page 1743]]

    Q. During your meetings with Mr. Arafat and Mr. Rabin, how genuine 
did you feel their quest for peace was today?
    The President. Oh, I felt it was quite genuine. Just before we 
walked out--you know, they had never spoken before--and they looked at 
one another and immediately got down to business, no pleasantries. One 
said, you know, ``We have a lot of work to do to make this work,'' the 
Prime Minister. And Chairman Arafat said, ``I know, and I'm prepared to 
do my part.'' I mean, that was the immediate first exchange. And I 
thought they were both serious.
    Q. And the famous handshake?
    The President. I was pleased by it.
    Q. Mr. President, will Secretary Christopher be back in the region 
to try to push some progress on the Syrian, Israeli track?
    The President. Well, I expect Secretary Christopher to be in the 
region aggressively on a whole range of issues. He's already been there 
twice, and I expect him to be there quite a lot more.
    Q. In view of some of the financial programs that you have in your 
national development programs, how is the U.S. administration going to 
cope with any extra financial burden that the peace process might bring 
about?
    The President. Well, for us, I think, two things will make it 
possible for us to contribute. First, as a practical matter, we'd been 
given so many assurances by other nations that they wish to contribute 
that ours will probably be a minority contribution to an effort that 
while it will be sizable, will not be overwhelming and as much as the 
number of people living in Gaza and in the Jericho area, however it is 
ultimately defined, will not be so great.
    And secondly, I think most Americans expect us to do this. They 
understand how important to the United States making this peace might be 
with all of its possible future implications. And I think the American 
people also understand that this is a genuinely historic opportunity, 
one that comes along at most once in a century and that we have to seize 
it.
    Q. Mr. President, your Russian aid bill went through some 
difficulties to pass through the Congress. There are lots of laws that 
prohibit any American aid to the PLO. Is there any plan of revoking 
these laws?
    The President. Well, our dialog has just begun. And presumably 
that's one of the things we'll be discussing. The Russian aid program I 
expect to be successfully concluded. But we have, because our budget 
deficit has gotten so large, we have now very strict laws about how we 
spend money and how we account for it. So we take great care before we 
spend any new money. But there's a lot of support for the Russian aid 
package, and I expect it to pass soon.
    Q. How do you see the relationship between the peace process and the 
spread of fundamentalism in parts of the Middle East?
    The President. And beyond.
    Q. And beyond?
    The President. I think if we carry through the peace process in good 
faith and we give the Palestinian people a chance to enjoy a normal life 
with a sense of place, that it will remove one of the great causes of 
fundamentalism and political extremism. Doubtless there will be other 
causes. And a lot of the groups are very well organized and very well 
financed and are furthering political objectives that have no longer 
anything to do with the grievances of the Palestinian people. But still, 
that was at the root of it all in the beginning. I also believe if we 
can do it, it will show the Islamic peoples of the world that the United 
States and all of the nations which help us, respect and honor the 
religious and cultural traditions of the Muslims wherever they are and 
are prepared to work with and support Islamic nations as long as they 
are willing to adhere to the international rules governing human rights 
and peace and democracy.
    Q. Mr. President, in your call with President Asad of Syria, you 
asked him for some more active role in the peace process. And you are 
negotiating and taking part in talks with the Syrians. Is it not a bit 
weird to still have Syria's name on the blacklist of states supporting 
terrorism?
    The President. Well, the countries that get on that list are put on 
the list under American laws based on factual inquiries and evidence in 
certain particular cases. That is an issue which has to be resolved in 
the course of our common negotiations. I think

[[Page 1744]]

the important thing is that as an American President I have had several 
exchanges of letters with President Asad, and the Secretary of State has 
been to see him. I had a very good, long conversation with him on the 
telephone. And we are talking. And that is important.
    Q. Mr. President, in your interview yesterday with the New York 
Times and today in the Washington Post, there were some implications 
that you were blaming the Palestinians for throwing stones at the 
Israelis. We have the whole Arab world watching us now that would say, 
is it not at least a two-way street? Why don't you blame the Israelis 
for also punishing the Palestinians?
    The President. Well, the context of the Washington Post story this 
morning was quite different. It was with reference to the specific 
incidents. You know, yesterday, we had Israeli soldiers killed, we had 
one driver killed, we had the attempted destruction of the bus.
    Q. And three Palestinians.
    The President. And so--that's right--but what I was asked about were 
those incidents, those particular instances. So I expect both sides to 
keep the commitments they made in this peace agreement. But one of the 
things that Mr. Arafat did, to his credit, was to renounce terrorism and 
to recognize the existence of the state of Israel and to say that he 
would take responsibility within the areas of self-governance for 
promoting the law. And that's all I said, was I thought he ought to do 
that.
    Q. Isn't there a difference, Mr. President, between terrorism and 
freedom fighting? I mean, someone, a terrorist in someone's eyes might 
be a freedom fighter in the other's. What is the defined line that 
divides between these two?
    The President. Well, I suppose it's like beauty, it may be in the 
eyes of the beholder. But from the point of view of the United States, 
there are clear definitions of terrorism, and one of them clearly is the 
willful killing of innocent civilians who themselves are not in any way 
involved in military combat. That is what we seek to prevent.
    Q. Mr. President, today has been an historical day with the signing 
of the agreement, with the very first interview by an American President 
on an Arabic television. Once again, we thank you very much for this 
interview and for this time, and we say congratulations on the agreement 
that's been signed today.
    The President. I hope there will be more of these.

Note: The interview began at 3:30 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this 
interview.