Condoleezza Rice With Egyptian Foreign Minister

Remarks With Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Joint Press Availability
Aswan, Egypt
March 25, 2007

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter.) Good morning. Of course, Dr. Rice spent almost 24 hours in the city of Aswan and we expressed our deep welcome and appreciation to this historic city. The Secretary had a meeting with President Mubarak that lasted for almost 90 minutes. We have seen many positive elements during that meeting and we were able during the discussions to cover the situation in the region generally and specifically a number of regional issues, in particular the Palestinian issue.

Regarding the Palestinian issue, Dr. Rice shared the American approach and the American thinking and how to deal with both sides, the Palestinians and the Israeli sides, as well as the mission of the Quartet and the international community as well as (inaudible) the regional countries and how the regional countries can advance these steps forward.

Regarding Egypt, there is no doubt that we support the American efforts and we hope that the United States and Dr. Rice will succeed in achieving a breakthrough. And in this regard, there is also a fact that there is a Palestinian Government and a Palestinian Authority today on the ground that it is capable, and a Palestinian Authority from our point of view should be supported -- this is Egypt's point of view -- because supporting the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Government there's no doubt that will open the roads before and after peace process.

Also we have, as I said, discussed the regional issues and among on the top of the list the situation in Iraq, the issue of Darfur, the Lebanese issue as well as the nuclear Iranian issue. And we had brief discussions on the issue of nonproliferation in the Middle East. This is regarding the meeting between President Mubarak and Dr. Rice.

Last night, also we had the group of the Arab foreign ministers and the head of intelligence from four Arab countries. It was two meetings and followed by a working dinner. We continued to discuss the same points. And I believe that the discussion was useful because it allowed each one the opportunity to be acquainted with the various points of views regarding how to move and push the peace process forward.

This is briefly what I wanted to share with you, and then there will be questions and answers that could shed more lights. Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much, Mr. Minister, for inviting me here and thank you very much for the hospitality here in Aswan. It's my first time in Aswan and it looks like an extraordinary place. And the next time I hope to have a chance to go out and see some of this extraordinary part of Egypt.

I'm very pleased to be back in Egypt, where we are consulting with our friends about how to build a more prosperous and peaceful Middle East. It is obviously a challenging time here in the region, but President Bush has never been more committed to pushing forward an agenda for a new Middle East that will be more democratic and more secure and therefore more fully stable.

We had an opportunity--I discussed with President Mubarak this morning the full range of regional issues. The Minister has noted everything from the Israeli-Palestinian issues, where I appreciate very much the support of Egypt as we go forward to try and achieve a vision of a two-state solution, two states living side by side in peace and in freedom.

We talked also about Iraq and support for the young democracy in Iraq against extremist forces. As the Minister said, we talked about nuclear issues, including those concerning Iran; about the situation in Sudan and again the efforts of Egypt to help to bring stability to Sudan so that individuals there, innocent people there, can face a more stable future. And that was a very important part of our discussion.

We also talked about the internal reform issues here in Egypt, and I appreciate the atmosphere of mutual respect in which we are able to do so.

So all in all, it was a very good meeting today and I want to thank the Minister also for last night, when I had an opportunity to meet with some of our Arab colleagues to talk about how the Arab community, the Arab states, might join in support for a more peaceful Middle East, including in support of the Palestinian-Israeli track. And so thank you very much for hosting us here last night and today, and I look forward to returning to Egypt again, perhaps in another wonderful part of Egypt.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: I think the Secretary is coming back for the Quartet.

SECRETARY RICE: Yes, we will be back for the Quartet. We haven't set a date yet, but I look forward to that as well.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Anytime.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: If we would sort of organize the press conference, would you accept two or three questions from each side?

SECRETARY RICE: (Off-mike.)

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Very nice.

QUESTION: This is a question from (inaudible) magazine for both ministers and especially the first question for you, Madame Secretary. Since the Bush Administration in June 2002 and until now all the American movements are still a process without substances, there is nothing concrete going on. We feel it's not built on anything. So in this visit do you have new ideas to help to start a real negotiation?

And the second part, please, it's about why you don't tackle the Israeli nuclear power in the Middle East. Are there any efforts to convince Israel to go and join the NPT? Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you. Well, first of all, I would have to say that this has been a President that since he came into office has faced a very difficult situation in the Middle East. He came into office at the time that Camp David had failed and we were in the middle of the beginning of the second intifada. And he has worked patiently since then to try and lay a better foundation for peace, including being the first American President to make as a matter of policy the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The two-state solution which we now talk about as if it were just always the case that everyone accepted a two-state solution is now--it is now the case that people accept the need for a two-state solution. That was not so in 2000. There were large parts of the Israeli political spectrum that did not. There were elements of the Palestinian spectrum that did not. And so the President, I think, has helped to lay the foundation now on which we can build to try to finally bring about a Palestinian state, and he has made very clear that in his last year and a half in office, two years in office, that this will be one of our highest priorities.

It is true that this is a difficult time between the parties, made more difficult by changing circumstances on the ground, including changing circumstances concerning the establishment of the Palestinian unity government. But as I said before, there's never an uncomplicated time in the Middle East and so I will work with the parties this time to try to establish a common approach toward resolving these longstanding differences. But I suppose if it had been easy to do, it would have been done before, and so we'll just have to work.

In terms of nuclear-free zone, we've long said we hope that the day will come when there is no need for any state to contemplate the need for weapons of this kind in the Middle East.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: May I respond as well?

SECRETARY RICE: Yes.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter.) Regarding the question, we have heard the point of view from the U.S. Secretary of State and his intentions in how to move forward, and we believe that the upcoming phase will witness going into both the practical aspects and the substance in order to formulate the council and how to move towards the objective of two states. And we have full confidence in the Secretary's and her ability to work with the parties to achieve that goal. The goal is difficult, but I believe that plenty of determination and preparation and consistency would hopefully lead to results that will be positive.

Regarding the issue of nonproliferation, we know that there is a resolution for a decision came out of the NPT in 1995 related to the Middle East and how to deal with the issue of nonproliferation in the Middle East. That decision was enhanced and all parties in the region were asked to join the Nonproliferation Treaty through another decision in 2000. Now there is an upcoming meeting in 2010. This is the--there will be the seventh conference of the Nonproliferation Treaty and we are working with the American side in order to reach an understanding that would lead to enhancing the idea of asking all parties and region to join the Nonproliferation Treaty and we will continue our efforts in that regard.

QUESTION: A question for both of you, starting with Madame Secretary. Would you like to see a stepped-up, more public role for Saudi Arabia in Mideast peacemaking, perhaps including a face-to-face visit between the Saudis and the Israelis?

And for both of you, do you think that Saudi Arabia has in any way usurped Egypt's former role as a central actor in Mideast peacemaking?

SECRETARY RICE: Look, there's plenty of work for everybody to do. And Egypt is a leader in the search for peace, a longtime leader in the search for peace, whose leaders took risks and have taken risks in order to promote peace. And that gives Egypt a central role that will always be a central role in the peace process.

It is also the case that the King of Saudi Arabia, first in the Crown Prince initiative and then what became the Arab initiative, laid out a kind of vision of how there might be an Arab-Israeli reconciliation or a full reconciliation, and we think that that is a useful step as well. And we talked about how the Arab-Israeli side of this may indeed help to promote a comprehensive peace, might help to promote an Israeli-Palestinian end to the conflict and therefore the establishment of a Palestinian state, and I would hope that every state will search very deep to see what it can do at this crucial time to finally end this conflict. The Palestinian people have waited long enough to have a state of their own and the Israeli people have waited long enough to have the kind of security that will come from the establishment of a stable and democratic neighbor to live in peace with them. And so it is not the--it is our role, all of us, to do whatever we can in order to promote the two-state solution at this time.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

SECRETARY RICE: There may be many different ways to achieve this, but for now I think we just need to have every state look to see what it might be able to do to support the process.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: May I respond?

SECRETARY RICE: Yes, please. I think it was to you as well.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter) The Middle East and the settlement in the Middle East should not be monopolized by one country. As Dr. Rice said, the U.S. Secretary of State, Egypt is a central country and Egypt carries out and discharges responsibilities over decades of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Today, there are more than Arab countries who would like to play a role in building peace. This is a collective responsibility. The Arab League is not Egypt. The Arab League is a collection of Arab countries that work together in order to achieve the objective of establishing peace in the region. Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia work hand in hand and very closely and with a great deal of coordination, and anyone who follows the Egyptian-Saudi work can easily detect many meetings. Many of them are open and public and many of them are unannounced, but there is a continuation of meetings. The responsibility is a collective responsibility, and anyone who can exert efforts, we should support that party and promote them forward.

QUESTION: Thank you. The question is for both foreign ministers. My name is Nuhamtad (ph). I'm from Egyptian television. My first question is to Dr. Rice. Secretary of State, before coming here to the region, you talked to your reporters. You said that the Arab initiative must be offered again and offered in a way that suggests a follow-up. As far as we all remember when the Arab initiative was offered back in 2002, it was ignored by the United States, let alone rejected by Israel. So what is the kind of follow-up that you are expecting from, and from who, and particularly that the Arab heavyweights -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria -- said that they are not going to do any amendments required by Israel in the Arab initiative.

And the question also to Minister Aboul Gheit. My question is a follow-up on what you said that you heard from Secretary Rice's vision of the U.S. Administration of how to move ahead in the next phase. Really, we don't exactly know what are these specific steps that are going to be taken or what is this vision in order to get to the two-state solution. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you. On the Arab initiative, let me be very clear: I have not suggested and the United States Government has not suggested amendment of the Arab initiative. It is the Arab initiative and the Arab League has the right to offer it as the Arab League wishes to do.

What I have said is that I hope that there will be a way of making it a basis for active diplomacy. We are in a period of time in which we believe that despite the difficulties, the possibility of pushing forward toward a two-state solution is now before us and all states, including the Arab League, those in the Arab League individually as well as the Arab League as a whole, to push forward at this time.

So it is up to the Arab League, up to the Arab states, how they might use the Arab initiative for more active diplomacy. But in terms of amendment, it has not been the position of the United States that amendment is needed.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter) Regarding the thinking that's going through the minds of Secretary Rice, I am not going to reveal what kind of conversations that we had together and it's not right for me to talk about her intentions or how she intends to move forward for the elements of talking about this. We cannot reveal what she has discussed. This is her property to talk about. Regarding the Arab initiative--(laughter). Am I to speak on your behalf while you are standing here? Of course not.

May I also speak on the Arab initiative, if I may? (Via interpreter.) Regarding the Arab initiative, of course Egypt is committed to this initiative and we hope that the other side, the Israeli side, also will deal with this initiative positively and to move in order to resume negotiations on the basis of their logic. The initiative is a tool in order to start negotiations. It is presented in order for the Israeli to take it, deal with it, and then we launch negotiations. And we hope and we assume that in order to achieve peace, you have to negotiate peace because there are so many issues that goes to the heart of everything, which is land-for-peace. This is the heart of the negotiations that leads to borders, leads to dealing with all the elements that are on the table for the upcoming phase.

Regarding the talks about amending the initiative, but of course natural that it's illogical that the Arab side would propose something and then revise it or amend it before we even hear anything from the Israeli side. So we need to hear from the Israeli side, then we launch the negotiations.

SECRETARY RICE: Helene. Helene Cooper of the New York Times.

QUESTION: Thanks. I'd like to ask both of you a question about democracy. Secretary Rice, before coming here, you said that you were disappointed in tomorrow's upcoming referendum and that you intended to raise the issue with President Mubarak. Has your talk with him allayed your concerns and have your views now changed about tomorrow's referendum?

And to Mr. Aboul Gheit, many backers of the constitutional changes in Egypt have likened it to the U.S. Patriot Act. Do you agree with that? And if so, what exactly are those similarities? Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Helene, we have had a discussion. I've made my concerns known as well as my hopes for continued reform here in Egypt. I think what I said is that the process of reform is one that is difficult; it's going to have its ups and downs. And we always discuss these matters in a way that is respectful, mutually respectful. But I've made my concerns known and we've had a good discussion.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter.) Regarding the question of the Patriot Act and the relationship between the Egyptian constitutional amendments and the relationship to the Patriot Act in the United States, I believe we have to confess that Egypt has been subjected to terrorist acts over--for a period over 80 years and with the end of the Second World War, since 1945, there are and there has been extremist views on the Egyptian territories since that time in order to shake up the political structure and the economic and the social structure of the Egyptian society.

The Egyptian state stood over the years and decades in order to be determined in protecting internal peace and achieve the stability of the Egyptian society. This is the responsibility of the society towards itself before it is its responsibility towards the region or the international community. Egypt has reaffirmed many times it is a central country in this part of the world, and if Egypt is shaken, the region will be shaken. Therefore Egypt's determination and capability not only to establish internal stability and achieve social and economic development through laws and legislation with vision and objectives, the Egyptian stability has its own positive impact on the regional policies.

Therefore Egypt adheres to all the laws that allows the state to achieve its own security and the security of the region. Therefore any procedures to secure the American citizens and facilitate life, this is something we will adhere to.

Regarding the details of the Patriot Act, I am not familiar with many of the elements of that law and I will not be able really to comment on something and compare between it and between Egyptian laws.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. My question is for you, Ms. Madame Secretary. Here in Egypt and maybe in the Arab world we were expecting that before you launched your visit this time to Egypt and to the region that you will declare more or you will tell us more about the steps or the vision that the United States will take to realize the Palestinian and the Israeli peace. Instead of criticizing something which is maybe an internal affair to Egypt, this is something, an internal effort to Egypt which is concerned with the constitution and there are really at the same time some concerns in the Arab and Egypt press the democracy and security in Iraq are not happened till now. What's your comment about it?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, first of all, the President has made very clear that he is very committed to democracy in the Middle East. President Bush gave a speech in his Second Inaugural that was very clear about that, and that this is a conversation we would have with all of our friends.

We recognize that states do this in their own way and that they do it in a way that is consistent with their own cultural circumstances and others, but the President is committed to this vision of democracy in the Middle East and we're going to remain committed to it.

And Egypt is very special. Egypt is a leader in the Arab world. And so it's not surprising that people are interested in what is going on internally in Egypt. It's not a matter to try to dictate to Egypt how this unfolds, but it is a matter to say that Egypt is an extremely important country; that when Egypt leads, people listen. And so that's the spirit in which the democracy agenda has been followed by the United States.

We know that democracy is not easy and it takes time. The United States has had its own struggles. Forty years ago in the United States, it was still not the case that every American could be assured the right to vote. I grew up in the South where the Voting Rights Act in 1965 made that possible. And so it's a long struggle and it's a long journey, but it's important that that journey be begun and the President has made very clear that he believes that it's no different in the Middle East than anyplace else.

Now, as to Iraq, it is a struggle for the Iraqis. They have been able with the help of the United States and the coalition to overthrow one of the bloodiest tyrants of 20th century and the early 21st century, someone who put 300,000 of its people in mass graves, who used chemical weapons and who terrorized the region and pulled the United States into war in 1991. He is now gone. But the fact is that it's time to build a stable, democratic system where people of very longstanding differences come together to resolve their differences through politics, not through violence.

It's hard. It's a struggle. And it is a struggle that is being made more difficult by extremists on very many sides of their conflict who want to prevent Iraqis from doing exactly that. And these are people who don't have a political agenda that is a positive agenda for Iraq, but they blow up innocent school children or they blow up Iraqis standing trying to get a job in line. So there is no doubt that it's difficult, but the Iraqi people have a chance to do something very special, which is in a very complex state in the Middle East to solve their differences through political institutions that are democratic. And the United States is going to be a strong supporter of that effort.

I said to the Minister earlier we appreciate the efforts of Egypt, which frankly has been one of the leaders in the Arab world in reaching out to the Iraqis, to affirm Iraq's position in the Arab world. I want to remember the sacrifice of Egypt, who lost an ambassador in Iraq. So Egypt has been committed to trying to help the Iraqis in this cause, but it's hard. It's really hard to build a democracy when extremists are trying to prevent it from happening.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter.) As you say, as you hear, the U.S. Secretary of State talks about the Egyptian role and the centrality of the Egyptian role to move the achievement of peace in that part of the world. As far as Egypt is concerned, we seek to work very actively not only on the regional scene but also in order to develop socially and economically this country and this society.

President Mubarak in his own election platform and program talked about the Egyptian efforts in order to modify the constitution and the Egyptian laws in a way that would allow for more democracy, more Egyptian democracy. I would like to say to Dr. Rice that if you look through the window of your street here, you will see groups of granite rocks, a whole mountain of granite. This is the Egyptian spirit. The Egyptian spirit is as solid as granite. It's capable of going through the journey with solid steps forward in order to achieve the objective.

SECRETARY RICE: I believe that very strongly. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, you called for everyone to search deep to see what they could do to promote things. From your conversations last night, did you get any sense from particularly the two nations that do not have peace agreements with Israel that there is a willingness, notably on the part of the Saudis, to dig deep to do more?

And Mr. Foreign Minister, could you explain why the Egyptian Government decided to schedule the vote on the referendum only one week after its passage in the parliament? And could you directly address the criticism of many human rights groups that it is, in fact, pushing back or taking a step backward on democracy, particularly by enshrining in the constitution powers of arrest, surveillance, referring prosecutions to special courts?

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: (Via interpreter.) Sir, I would like to be very blunt with you. With all frankness, the responsibility of security in the Egyptian society is an Egyptian responsibility and will remain as an Egyptian responsibility. There is a direct threat to the Egyptian state and the Egyptian society through terrorist acts. I doubt you know the details. We know the details.

An Israeli prime minister was assassinated in 1944 or 1945. An Israeli prime minister was assassinated in 1946. An Egyptian president was assassinated in 1981. Many and numerous attempts took place against Egyptian presidents and prime ministers and against Egyptian ministers and against Egyptian officials.

One of the great characteristics of Egypt is security in the society and Egypt's capability to provide security to its sons and daughters. This is the responsibility of the Egyptian society. And when the issue is related to terrorism, I trust that Egyptian laws and through the framework of the Egyptian constitution will achieve security to this society under very difficult circumstances for the entire region.

Regarding what some might say or some of the opposition and the voices from opposition groups regarding accelerating the referendum date, this is an issue of timing. There was an approval on the amendments and there are different dates and calendars in the Egyptian thinking that must be taken into consideration. Perhaps you don't know much about an event called Moulid an Nabi or the spring day vacation which is called Sham El Nessim. There are many holidays in Egypt where the entire country really disappears and people go into their vacations. Therefore seeing that this particular timing is an appropriate time, this is a way to make sure that people will be able to enjoy their life and their vacation, especially that the referendum and the amendments have been approved by the Egyptian parliaments.

The Egyptian internal developments see a leap forward unprecedented in Egyptian history, and we mean but by the end of all these reform steps, we hope that we will reach a phase that would allow the Egyptian citizen and Egyptian society more democracy and open more and more for the region.

SECRETARY RICE: And as to the question of what other states might do, it is a time to search deep. I found the discussion last night extremely fulfilling because I think people were talking about how to solve problems, how to move forward. It was an excellent discussion also because it was open and candid, and that is the only way that we're going to make progress. It's the only way that all states are going to do their part in the search for peace. And I hope we'll have many more like that. It was a very good discussion.

FOREIGN MINISTER GHEIT: Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you.

2007/T4-1

Released on March 25, 2007

ENDS

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