Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Next Step on Road to Middle East Peace
Aired June 04, 2003 - 06:03 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: Think of all of the lives lost and all of the lives that will never be the same because of the violence in the Middle East. This one day could change all of that.
President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas are getting ready for their three-way meeting, and here is what they're talking about: creating a Palestinian state by the year 2005, for Palestinian groups to stop the attacks against Israelis and agree to a cease-fire, and for Israel to withdraw from the occupied areas.
The president will first meet individually with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers, and then all three will meet together.
John King kicks off our coverage this hour from Aqaba, Jordan, where the summit is taking place.
And the president has already met with Ariel Sharon, right?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He has met with Ariel Sharon, he has met with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, Carol, and the three-way summit is getting under way here in Aqaba, Jordan. It is a dramatic moment, a big moment for this president, the first time since the collapse of the Camp David negotiations at the end of the Clinton administration that a president of the United States is meeting jointly with the prime minister of Israel and the leader of the Palestinians.
Mr. Bush did make individual rounds first. He met with Prime Minister Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Now, these two men met just yesterday. Mr. Bush, of course, seeking immediate security improvements from the Palestinians, also political reforms. Part of the meeting with Mr. Abbas also designed to send a message to the world that it is Prime Minister Abbas, not Yasser Arafat, who is the front-line negotiator for the Palestinians in these peace talks.
At the earlier session with Prime Minister Sharon, there was a bit of problem arranging the handshake, but these two leaders call each other "friend." Mr. Bush is counting on Prime Minister Sharon to make touch decisions that will cost Prime Minister Sharon back home, including an immediate dismantling of illegal settlements, and then dismantling of more settlements down the road, as the Palestinians and the Israelis hopefully get back into negotiations aimed at reaching a land-for-peace agreement.
Now, Mr. Bush also met here with King Abdullah of Jordan. He is more than just a host. He is one of a handful of moderate Arab leaders that Mr. Bush believes are critical when this process hits bumps in the days and weeks ahead, after today's moment of hope. Everyone knows there will be problems. Mr. Bush counting on King Abdullah and other Arab leaders to help him move the process along when those problems arise.
Now, one veteran of this process, someone who spent years trying to help negotiate Israeli-Palestinian peace during the Clinton administration, believes this president, President Bush, has a unique opportunity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDY BERGER, CLINTON CABINET MEMBER: With the success in Iraq, with a moderate prime minister on the Palestinian side, with two-and- a-half years of bitterness and exhaustion on both sides, I think this is a movement, a moment for progress. It's not going to happen in one meeting between Bush and Abu Mazen and Sharon, as important as that meeting is. It's only going to happen if the Palestinians and the Israelis believe that the president is prepared to stay the course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And so as President Bush presses the Israelis and the Palestinians to make some concession today and to be prepared to make more down the road, Mr. Bush is delivering just that, Carol. He is assuring these leaders that he will not just be involved on an optimistic day like today, but that he will be involved from now until the end of his road map, which, as you noted at the top, ultimately, if these negotiations keep going, call for an independent Palestine in 2005 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll see. John King reporting live from Aqaba, Jordan, 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 June 4, 2003 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Think of all of the lives lost and all of the lives that will never be the same because of the violence in the Middle East. This one day could change all of that.
President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas are getting ready for their three-way meeting, and here is what they're talking about: creating a Palestinian state by the year 2005, for Palestinian groups to stop the attacks against Israelis and agree to a cease-fire, and for Israel to withdraw from the occupied areas.
The president will first meet individually with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers, and then all three will meet together.
John King kicks off our coverage this hour from Aqaba, Jordan, where the summit is taking place.
And the president has already met with Ariel Sharon, right?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He has met with Ariel Sharon, he has met with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, Carol, and the three-way summit is getting under way here in Aqaba, Jordan. It is a dramatic moment, a big moment for this president, the first time since the collapse of the Camp David negotiations at the end of the Clinton administration that a president of the United States is meeting jointly with the prime minister of Israel and the leader of the Palestinians.
Mr. Bush did make individual rounds first. He met with Prime Minister Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Now, these two men met just yesterday. Mr. Bush, of course, seeking immediate security improvements from the Palestinians, also political reforms. Part of the meeting with Mr. Abbas also designed to send a message to the world that it is Prime Minister Abbas, not Yasser Arafat, who is the front-line negotiator for the Palestinians in these peace talks.
At the earlier session with Prime Minister Sharon, there was a bit of problem arranging the handshake, but these two leaders call each other "friend." Mr. Bush is counting on Prime Minister Sharon to make touch decisions that will cost Prime Minister Sharon back home, including an immediate dismantling of illegal settlements, and then dismantling of more settlements down the road, as the Palestinians and the Israelis hopefully get back into negotiations aimed at reaching a land-for-peace agreement.
Now, Mr. Bush also met here with King Abdullah of Jordan. He is more than just a host. He is one of a handful of moderate Arab leaders that Mr. Bush believes are critical when this process hits bumps in the days and weeks ahead, after today's moment of hope. Everyone knows there will be problems. Mr. Bush counting on King Abdullah and other Arab leaders to help him move the process along when those problems arise.
Now, one veteran of this process, someone who spent years trying to help negotiate Israeli-Palestinian peace during the Clinton administration, believes this president, President Bush, has a unique opportunity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDY BERGER, CLINTON CABINET MEMBER: With the success in Iraq, with a moderate prime minister on the Palestinian side, with two-and- a-half years of bitterness and exhaustion on both sides, I think this is a movement, a moment for progress. It's not going to happen in one meeting between Bush and Abu Mazen and Sharon, as important as that meeting is. It's only going to happen if the Palestinians and the Israelis believe that the president is prepared to stay the course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And so as President Bush presses the Israelis and the Palestinians to make some concession today and to be prepared to make more down the road, Mr. Bush is delivering just that, Carol. He is assuring these leaders that he will not just be involved on an optimistic day like today, but that he will be involved from now until the end of his road map, which, as you noted at the top, ultimately, if these negotiations keep going, call for an independent Palestine in 2005 -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll see. John King reporting live from Aqaba, Jordan, 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.
