Press conference with the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah

22 December 2004

Prime Minister Tony Blair held talks with the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah, while on a two-day visit to the Middle East.

Read the transcript of the press conference

Mr Abbas

My dear friend, Prime Minister Tony Blair, I welcome you in Palestine, and I extend my thanks for your condolences for the death of President Yasser Arafat, the condolences you extended to the Palestinian leadership and people.

Your visit takes place at an extremely important phase where we start the democratic process tomorrow in municipal elections, a democratic process that will be pursued early next year in presidential elections, in spite of the continued presence of Israeli occupation in various parts of the Palestinian territory. But our people have opted for democracy as a way of life from which we will not abdicate. And we will pursue in this path, the democratic path, without any compromise.

Our political objective is the ending of the occupation that has started in 1967, an independent sovereign Palestinian State and to find a just and agreed upon solution for the issue of the refugees and our strategic orientation and decision is that it is the negotiated solution that we are pursuing.

What we demand from the Israeli side, and what we expect from the Israeli side, is the cessation of aggression against our Palestinian people, and this necessitates the return to stability and order and security and we will fulfil all our commitments to achieve this purpose, and we expect from the Israeli side to stop the building of the wall, to stop the expansion of the settlements, and to release political Palestinian prisoners. All those steps would encourage the Palestinian people to pursue supporting progress on that level.

My dear friend, Prime Minister Tony Blair, to you personally and to the British Government, you are, Sir, in a unique position to help us progress in our peaceful pursuit, and your endeavour to hold a Conference in London early next year is another proof of your deep commitment to this purpose, and we believe that this Conference would be a first step in achieving an consolidating the peace process. This Conference would be an important opportunity for us Palestinians to pursue our work in reform, in administrative improvements and in order to establish ... on the level of security, reform, economic development and progress towards the implementation of the road map. Our people appreciate your endeavours in that field, Sir.

Once again I express our appreciation for your visit, for your support and for your concern about the case.

Prime Minister

Thank you very much, Chairman. First of all can I say how pleased I am to be here with you and your colleagues in Ramallah and to say that I am grateful to you for your welcome of the idea of a conference, a meeting in London at which we can see if we can find a way to make progress on an issue that I know is not just of enormous importance of course to the Palestinian people, and to the people of Israel indeed, but also to the wider world.

Some months ago when I gave a press conference with President Bush back in April, I described the disengagement plan that was put forward then by Prime Minister Sharon as something which called for a response from the international community, and a few weeks ago as you know I gave a press conference with President Bush at which we set out five steps.

The first step was to restate very clearly, and let me do so again today, our commitment to the Two-State solution, an independent, viable Palestinian State and the State of Israel confident in its own security. We also recommitted ourselves then to the Road Map.

The second step was the election of the new Palestinian President, which will take place on 9 January 2005.

The third step was then a construction of a plan to help the development of the Palestinian Authority and the people to make sure that it has the security and the political and the economic structures in place that it wishes to see.

The fourth step was then the disengagement.

And the fifth was then going back into the Road Map so that we could indeed have a negotiated final settlement of the issues. And I think everyone is very well aware that this is an important time, and it is an important opportunity. And after many months and years when it has been very difficult to see progress, I think there is a great sense of hope that there can be progress, but as we all know, having the hope is one thing, translating it into reality is another. So I hope that this London Conference can play some part in that, and I thank you for your welcome of it, and I want to state once again very clearly that we see this, not in any shape or form as a substitute, but indeed as part of getting to the process where we can have the final status negotiation and a lasting settlement and lasting peace, and I hope that it can play that part, and I would like to thank you and thank your colleagues for your co-operation today and the good and constructive discussion we have, and let us hope we can make some progress in the end.

Question and Answer Session

Question

Could I ask Chairman Abbas, this morning Mr Sharon made very clear that he would be willing to move back towards the Road Map provided all terrorism ceased. Are you prepared to say today that you will do everything in your power to ensure that that terrorism does cease?

Mr Abbas

We have reiterated more than once that we are ready to return to the Road Map, and we have emphasised and re-emphasised that we are ready to fulfil the commitments we have within the framework of the Road Map, and this to pave the road, the way, into implementing the peace process in full. And if Prime Minister Sharon has mentioned that there are Israeli obligations that they have to fulfil, that is precisely what the Road Map is about, reciprocal commitments taken by both sides, expected by the international community. And this can be the starting point for a short trip towards peace, the desirable peace.

Question

May I ask Prime Minister Blair if there is anything specifically the UK can do to help in this process you have talked about of building up the government and security structures in the Palestinian Authority, for example sending advisers, personnel, any sort of thing like that that the UK itself can do?

Prime Minister

Obviously we have got to sit down and discuss what can be done. But I have made it very clear, I made it clear this morning, I made it clear again in our discussions, we have to have a situation where everything that can be done is being done to stop terrorism and violence and I hope very much that we can help do what it is the Palestinians themselves have set out very clearly they want to do. As the Chairman just made it clear to me in the conversation we have had, he understands the importance of the security issue, he wants to see it through, and I hope we can play a part in that, because of course that is part of the obligations of the Road Map, and those obligations are there, incidentally, of course, on both sides. But it does call for definitively the measures to be taken to make sure that terrorism is a thing of the past.

Question

Not translated.

Prime Minister

First of all, let me make it very clear what we can and can't do. There is a Conference envisaged by the Road Map which is the Conference at which there are discussions about the final status negotiation. That is not for me to undertake. What we can do, however, is to make sure that after the Presidential election and with the disengagement being what we want to be which is the first step of the process towards creating a viable Palestinian State, we can help with the development of those institutions necessary on the Palestinian side to create that viable state. But it has got to be very, very clear - and I said this this morning and I say it again now - my purpose is not simply to have a meeting or to have a conference. As I said to the Chairman, there have been many conferences, many discussions, many meetings, many declarations and words. My purpose is to give help to the Palestinian Authority and its people so that we can get back into the Road Map negotiation towards the Two-State solution and a viable Palestinian State at the end of it that we all want to see. But until we get those steps taken we will be in a situation where we are not able to make the progress we wish. Now that is our role. It has never been more than that. I think it will be important, if it succeeds, because then when you get back into the Road Map then you have the possibility within the Road Map of the conference that finally decides these issues. But in order to get there you need this first step to be taken.

Question

Mr Blair, do I understand from this that this is an amendment to the Road Map. Because I think that the reform process and ending of violence was part of the Road Map. Is this an addition or amendment to the Road Map, and what are you asking the Israelis to do on the other hand.

And a Question for Mr Abu Marzan, if the Conference is going to focus simply on reforms and not on the rest of the peace moves, are you still going to attend that Conference?

Prime Minister

First of all, I don't know quite what the right analogy to use in relation to the Road Map is. I look at it more as a bridge back into the Road Map. At the present time, the obligations of either side in the Road Map are clear. But there is no way of making those obligations be credibly fulfilled, and that is what we need. We need to get to the point where it is clear that there is a plan in place after the Presidential election, as disengagement is taking place in a limited way, as we know, from the Gaza and part of the West Bank, there has got to be a plan in place there so that the Palestinian Authority is able to fulfil its desire to have the right political and economic and security structures in place. Now that's where we can help. And it is not in any shape or form a substitute for then what will finally happen in the Road Map. But it is a way back into it, because at the moment we can all talk about the Road Map and say we agree with the Road Map, we agree with the Two-State solution, but we have had paralysis frankly for months, if not years, in this process. So with the new opportunities we have, the election of a new Palestinian President, the disengagement that is going to happen, let's use this opportunity to get back into the Road Map. And that is how I see this conference in London. It's preparatory to that, and it's about working in partnership with the Palestinians to ensure that that can take place. You know, in the end, understand what is important. What is important is that we are able to make progress, after months and years when there has been none. And this I believe is an important part of doing it.

Question

Inaudible

Prime Minister

The obligations of the Israelis are very, very clear. Those obligations are there in the Road Map, and that is why you have got back into that negotiation. And what I set myself as my objective in coming here is first of all to get agreement on the meeting in London, which I think we now have, and secondly to get a clear commitment to the Road Map. And to get that commitment, not just obviously from Chairman Abu Marzan, but also from the Israeli Government. Now they have given that commitment today. So let's use this opportunity and get back into it.

Question

Mr Chairman, I have a Question for you. During the invasion of Iraq, the Coalition Forces were not welcomed in Palestine and now what do you say about sitting around the table with them again for the future of Palestine?

Spokesman

Can you repeat the Question, I don't think we ..

Question

In the invasion of Iraq the Coalition Forces were not welcomed or appreciated within Palestine and now you are sitting around a table with them about the future of Palestine. Do you have any comments about that?

Prime Minister

That comes in the category of helpful Questions, doesn't it?

Mr Abbas

We are not asking for multinational forces. We are just asking the international community to give support to our institution building on our way to independence and sovereignty. And we see this conference as aiming to strengthen, and increase, and enhance our capabilities to cope with the opportunities and challenges.

Question

I have a Question for you both. The Road Map has a pretty clear timetable. However if all the conditions that Prime Minister Blair spoke about here [ break in transcript ]

Prime Minister

Well, I don't think there is any point in trying to set an arbitrary timetable, although I certainly hope we are able to make progress quickly. I think it depends what happens. I think if we are able to have a successful conference in London, the disengagement goes ahead, we get back into the Road Map, then it is in a sense in the hands of both the Palestinians and Israelis as to how fast we can go, and let's hope we can make progress quickly. But I would emphasise to you that what we are talking about today is a start, but it's an important start. I hope we can do this quickly and the Road Map itself is very clear about the steps but there's no point in trying to set an arbitrary timetable or limit. We have just got to take it stage by stage and make it work, and then we will be in a better position a bit later to see how quickly it can be done.

Mr Abbas

As far as we are concerned we believe that tackling and addressing final status issues is extremely important, and I hope that the other side is also available to do that. On our side we are fully available to start very fast in engaging on final status negotiations. After the Presidential Palestinian elections to be held early next year on 9 January, we are very keen and very concerned to do some catching up about the lost time that was unnecessarily dilapidated in previous years.

Question

Mr Blair, one more Question. It seems that you are taking the position of Sharon here by accepting conditionality in implementing the Road Map by saying that first the Palestinians have to improve their security situation which means that you are changing the mechanism of the Road Map here. So what do you say about that?

And my Question for Prime Minister Abu Marzan [ in Arabic ]

Mr Abbas

Answered in Arabic.

Prime Minister

Let me just answer you. Security is an important part of implementing the Road Map, and we are never going to get back into the Road Map and get to the Two-State solution unless the measures of security are there and unless it is clear that it is being done. And then, incidentally, we have got the chance of making progress towards the thing that everyone wants to see, which is the Palestinian people with their own sovereign state able to live in peace, side by side with Israel, and believe me when I say this, this is an important issue of course for the Palestinian people who are suffering in the present situation. The Israeli people are suffering, everyone suffers as a result of it. But the absolute essence is to make sure that we get back to the point where the Road Map means something and this conference is an important part of getting there. So I know all the worries that there will always be in a situation like this, but let's try and make progress, because that is what we are here for.

Mr Abbas

This is a reciprocal commitment from both sides.