[Jerusalem Post Middle East] The Arab peace initiative presents the best opportunity to address Israel's doubts about its acceptance in the region, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told his Syrian counterpart on Friday. | I suspect Israel hasn't any doubts about its acceptance in the region. |
Whenever I hear the phrase "historic opportunity" I think of Woody, the used car salesman who thought he'd sell Mr. Wife that Chevy whose colour that brought out my eyes.
"I believe we have a genuinely historic opportunity, but also a historic responsibility because of the new approach that's been taken by the Obama administration since January, an approach which I think is wholly welcome, which is fully engaged and which is clear and consistent. President Obama has defined peace between Israel and the Arab world as being in the American national interest, a very significant statement, and I repeat today that it is in the British interest as well," Miliband told Moallem.
Speaking after the meeting, Miliband said: "We discussed today the important issue of how new direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are triggered by a freeze on settlements, an issue which has rightly assumed prominence.
| No prominence, however, to the issue of cessation of Palestinian attacks on Israeli settlements, because that's not an issue to anyone accept the Israelis, and they don't count in these negotiations. What ever happened to the philosemitic Britons like Winston Churchill? |
The foreign secretary spoke of the strengthening relations between Syria and the US, as reflected in the visit on Saturday by Mitchell, special envoy to the Middle East for the Obama administration, saying it represented great potential for the region as well as for imposing serious responsibilities on all parties.
Miliband also said that Syria was is in a "unique position to influence Iranian policy choices." The Islamic republic now had an opportunity to take its place in the community of nations, the foreign secretary said. "My belief is that the potential for Iran to assume an appropriate place in the international system will never be more clearly articulated than it has been at the moment. There will never be a better opportunity for Iran to assume an appropriate place in the community of nations, and I think that it's very, very important that we make clear to the Iranian authorities the significance of this moment and the significance of the policy choices that the new government [in Teheran] makes, because there is a very clear offer on the table in respect of its nuclear but also wider regional perspectives, and I think it's very important that there are no illusions about the importance of the decisions they now affect," he said.
Friday's meeting focused on bilateral relations. Miliband expressed delight with the improving ties. "The really excellent discussions that we've had today, I think, are testimony to the growing depth and breadth to the relationship between the UK and Syria," he said. "We've reviewed bilateral relations which I think are deepening on the economic and cultural front as well as on the political and diplomatic front."
| "See? We are still important." |