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CNN Live At Daybreak
President Bush Pushing Middle East Peace
Aired May 29, 2003 - 06:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush certainly has a full diplomatic plate.
To find out what the president hopes to accomplish, let's go live to the White House now and Suzanne Malveaux.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
As you know, the president has a very ambitious schedule. He's going to be going from Poland to Russia to France. He's going to be attending the G8 summit there.
Some of the issues he's going to be focusing on: international trade, mending fences, moving forward regarding Iraq, the North Korean nuclear crisis. But top on the agenda is Middle East peace. The president is actually going to leave that summit a day early to attend a historical Middle East summit. Now, that is where the president on Tuesday is going to be in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. He is going to be meeting with Arab leaders really to discuss and underscore the importance of their role in bringing the Israelis and the Palestinians together.
And then Wednesday, he is on to Aqaba, Jordan, where he's going to be meeting with King Abdullah, and then separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and then Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
Now, we are told by U.S. officials if all things go well that there will be a three-way summit with the president and the two prime ministers. U.S. officials believe that now is the time to seize the moment. They believe that they can move the road map forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I think that the president believes that the reason that this is the time to go is that the Arab leaders with whom he will meet are all telling him that this is a historic opportunity for peace. And that historical opportunity for peace is only going to be delivered if there is on the part of all parties a desire to take up their responsibilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Carol, of course, the Bush administration is looking for some visible signs from both sides that they are serious about this. As you know, the two leaders are going to have talks, both prime ministers, some time scheduled for later today. Also, U.S. officials hoping that Palestinians will show that they are cracking down on the extremists, that the Israelis are willing to lift some of those economic sanctions against the Palestinians.
And it is Thursday that the president is actually going to be thanking U.S. troops in Doha, Qatar, and that is where he is going to be meeting with the head of the U.S. Central Command, General Tommy Franks, as well as the civilian administrator, Paul Bremer. As you know, a difficult situation in Iraq, a very dangerous situation, where the president is going to meet face-to-face to get an update on what's happening on the ground there -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Good enough. Suzanne Malveaux live from the White House this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired May 29, 2003 - 06:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush certainly has a full diplomatic plate.
To find out what the president hopes to accomplish, let's go live to the White House now and Suzanne Malveaux.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
As you know, the president has a very ambitious schedule. He's going to be going from Poland to Russia to France. He's going to be attending the G8 summit there.
Some of the issues he's going to be focusing on: international trade, mending fences, moving forward regarding Iraq, the North Korean nuclear crisis. But top on the agenda is Middle East peace. The president is actually going to leave that summit a day early to attend a historical Middle East summit. Now, that is where the president on Tuesday is going to be in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. He is going to be meeting with Arab leaders really to discuss and underscore the importance of their role in bringing the Israelis and the Palestinians together.
And then Wednesday, he is on to Aqaba, Jordan, where he's going to be meeting with King Abdullah, and then separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and then Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
Now, we are told by U.S. officials if all things go well that there will be a three-way summit with the president and the two prime ministers. U.S. officials believe that now is the time to seize the moment. They believe that they can move the road map forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I think that the president believes that the reason that this is the time to go is that the Arab leaders with whom he will meet are all telling him that this is a historic opportunity for peace. And that historical opportunity for peace is only going to be delivered if there is on the part of all parties a desire to take up their responsibilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Carol, of course, the Bush administration is looking for some visible signs from both sides that they are serious about this. As you know, the two leaders are going to have talks, both prime ministers, some time scheduled for later today. Also, U.S. officials hoping that Palestinians will show that they are cracking down on the extremists, that the Israelis are willing to lift some of those economic sanctions against the Palestinians.
And it is Thursday that the president is actually going to be thanking U.S. troops in Doha, Qatar, and that is where he is going to be meeting with the head of the U.S. Central Command, General Tommy Franks, as well as the civilian administrator, Paul Bremer. As you know, a difficult situation in Iraq, a very dangerous situation, where the president is going to meet face-to-face to get an update on what's happening on the ground there -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Good enough. Suzanne Malveaux live from the White House this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
