Summit statement of U.S. President Clinton

Clinton

CNN Correspondent Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt -- The following is a transcript of U.S. President Bill Clinton's address at the closing ceremony on Tuesday of the two-day emergency Mideast summit in Egypt:

"First of all, I want to thank President (Hosni) Mubarak and his able team for making it possible for us to have the meeting that we have held in this magnificent and beautiful place.

"I especially want to thank President Mubarak for Egypt's consistent and pivotal partnership in the peace process and for playing a critical role in that pursuit. I also want to thank King Abdullah for his steadfast leadership for which he is now working in the Middle East. And especially I want to thank (U.N.) Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has been here now in the region for more than a week and who has worked tirelessly to bring an end to violence and to make this meeting possible. But, of course, the greatest credit for the progress that we have made today belongs to Prime Minister (Ehud) Barak and Chairman (Yasser) Arafat, who have had to overcome the difficulties of these last several days, and we all recognize that their's was the primary decision to make.

VIDEO Clinton announces the agreement (October 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi comments by phone at the summit's conclusion (October 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Barak holds a news conference after the summit (October 17) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace     RESOURCES Mideast struggle for peace

"Our meeting has not been easy because the last two weeks have been so hard, a tragic and terrible confrontation costing many lives and injuries, threatening everything that we have worked to achieve between Israelis and Palestinians and throughout the region over the past seven years now. Even as we meet, the situation in the territories remains tense. Yesterday, again, was violent. This is a reminder of the urgency of breaking the cycle of violence.

"I believe we have made real progress today. Repairing the damage will take time and great effort by all of us. When we leave here today, we will have to work hard to consolidate what we have agreed.

"Let me summarize what has been agreed so there will be no misunderstanding. Our primary objective has been to end the current violence so we can begin again to resume our efforts toward peace. The leaders have agreed on three basic objectives and steps to realize them:

"First, both sides have agreed to issue public statements unequivocally calling for an end of violence. They also agreed to take immediate concrete measures to end the current confrontation, eliminate points of friction, ensure an end to violence and incitement, maintain calm and prevent recurrence of recent events. To accomplish this, both sides will act immediately to return the situation to that which existed previous to the current crisis, in areas such as restoring law and order, redeployment of forces, eliminating points of friction, enhancing security cooperation and ending the closure and opening the Gaza airport. The United States will facilitate security cooperation between the parties as needed.

"Second, the United States will develop with the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as in consultation with the United Nations' secretary general, a committee of fact-finding on the events of the past several weeks and how to prevent their recurrence. The committee's report will be shared by the U.S. president with the U.N. secretary general and the parties prior to publication. A final report shall be submitted under the auspices of the U.S. president for publication.

"Third, if we are to address the underlying roots of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, there must be a pathway back to negotiations and a resumption of efforts to reach a permanent status agreement based on the U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and subsequent understandings. Toward this end, the leaders have agreed that the United States would consult with the parties within the next two weeks about how to move forward.

"We have made important commitments here today against the backdrop of tragedy and crisis. We should have no illusions about the difficulties again. If we are going to rebuild confidence and trust, we must all do our part; avoiding recrimination and moving forward. I'm counting on each of us to do everything we possibly can in the critical period ahead.

"I'm sure it will be a disappointment to some of you but one of the things that all the leaders agreed to was that our statement should stand on its own and we should begin by promoting reconciliation and avoiding conflict by forgoing questions today.

Thank you very much."

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