Sunday, April 26, 2009

Ahmadinejad tells Stephanopoulos: I Accept Two State Solution

From The Israel Policy Forum

Ahmadinejad tells Stephanopoulos: I Accept Two State Solution (Full Transcript of Interview)
MJ Rosenberg
Washington Director of Policy Analysis,
Israel Policy Forum
Posted April 26, 2009 - 7:09am
Washington, April 26


This is big news. George Stephanopoulos interviews President Ahmadinejad on “This Week” today and the Iranian President tells him that if the Palestinians and Israelis come to terms, he will accept Israel. Here is the relevant passage.

STEPHANOPOULOS: "If the Palestinians sign an agreement with Israel, will Iran support it?"

AHMADINEJAD: "Whatever decision they take is fine with us. We are not going to determine anything. Whatever decision they take, we will support that. We think that this is the right of the Palestinian people, however we fully expect other states to do so as well: the U.S. administration, European governments. The right to determine their fate by the Palestinians should be respected by all of them."

Ahmadinejad’s statement is his reponse to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand that he will only engage in negotiations with the Palestinians if Iran’s anti-Israel stance and nuclear program are addressed first, an approach the Obama administration rejects. It believes that implementing the two-state solution must come first because resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will, in itself, help address the Iranian threat.

Ahmadinejad throws the ball back in Israel’s court. Make peace with the Palestinians and I’ll accept it, and you, too, he says.

This statement will strengthen Obama’s hand with Netanyahu. The neocons always want Ahmadinejad to play theiir game and promise to rain destruction on Israel. This time Ahmadinejad refused to play.

Obama’s approach seems to be making a differemce.

4 comments:

Political Season said...

How is it that a few words from Ahmadinejad saying he supports a two state solution are met with unvarnished acceptance? Given that there is now no practical resolution acceptable to all sides that would result in a two state solution, nor with there be one in the foreseeable future, this is a no risk statement to make.

If Obama is smart, will he will keep his envoy busy with shuttle diplomacy and try to contain the conflict, but it would be a foolish goal of his foreign policy to attempt to solve it. We have a variety of foreign policy dilemmas that are actually solvable. This is not one of them.

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Truthiz said...

Well....

If Ahmadinejad is being sincere(?)_and that’s a big IF(?)_then it is indeed a positive step forward.

Of course, it "AIN'T" the kind of news the Israeli government wants to hear because that would mess with the Zionist's worldview, to say nothing of their plans to continue with the same old LIES and deceptive actions that's helped them to maintain control over the lives of the Palestinian people all these years.

But I digress.

Time will show just what Ahmadinejad is up to.