The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release |
March 14, 2014 |
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney
and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, 3/14/2014
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
1:30 P.M. EDT
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Q. Just a quick one, what does the President hope to get out of Monday’s meeting with Mr. Abbas?
MR. CARNEY: He will discuss progress made with President Abbas, as he did with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He will commend President Abbas, as he did Prime Minister Netanyahu, on the tough decisions that each leader has made thus far in an effort to move the process forward. He will speak of the need to establish a framework for negotiations going forward and the need to — as that takes place, for additional tough decisions to be taken so that we can see a resolution to a conflict that's been going on for a long, long time and that results in two states — a Palestinian — a sovereign Palestinian state and a secure, democratic, Jewish state of Israel.
We hope that we will see progress. This has been a very difficult issue for a long, long time. It’s one that Secretary Kerry and President Obama have engaged in directly. We are doing everything we can as a partner to both Israelis and Palestinians in trying to help them move forward in this difficult process.
Thanks.
Week ahead — not in review — begins this way: On Monday, the President will welcome Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House. The President looks forward to reviewing with President Abbas the progress in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations — I could have just read this and not answered your question. They will also discuss our continuing effort to work cooperatively to strengthen the institutions that can support the establishment of a Palestinian state. That is something that we and many others have worked with President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority in doing.
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Country: United States of America
Subject: Peace process, Peace proposals and efforts, Statehood-related
Publication Date: 14/03/2014