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Road Map to the Summit
Aired May 23, 2003 - 14:09 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: No pause yet in Mideast violence, but in the U.S., Israel and the West Bank, there are diplomatic developments today, most of them positive.
CNN's Kelly Wallace live in Jerusalem now.
Start us off, Kelly. What's the good news?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news, Kyra, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indicating he is prepared to accept that Mideast road map. This is something the prime minister has refused to do for many weeks now. But we are told after conversations between American and Israeli officials over the past few days in which the Americans really said the Israelis need to come out and accept this road map, even with reservations, the prime minister did just that. Of course, he wanted a guarantee though, and he got it in the form of a Bush administration statement in which the Bush administration said that it shares Israel -- quote -- "real concerns," and that it will address fully and seriously these concerns during implementation of the road map.
So, Kyra, Israeli officials say once they got that guarantee, the prime minister could sign on to the plan. Next step, though, is taking it to his cabinet for approval, and that could happen as early as Sunday -- Kyra.
Kelly, what about the Palestinians? What are they saying?
WALLACE: Well, they are issuing a cautiously optimistic response. They said they welcomed the U.S. statement. They also called the Israeli response encouraging, a positive step in the right direction, they said. But they also said they want to see deeds, not just words. This is the new government led by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, and the Palestinians have said they accept this road map with some reservations, and they have been calling on the Israelis to accept the road map and begin implementation.
So they are cautiously optimistic, hopeful, although there are some skeptics, Kyra, some Palestinians questioning whether Israel will really be prepared to go ahead and implement this road map right now -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. we'll continue to follow that road map. Definitely a long journey. Kelly Wallace, live from Jerusalem, thank you.
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 23, 2003 - 14:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: No pause yet in Mideast violence, but in the U.S., Israel and the West Bank, there are diplomatic developments today, most of them positive.
CNN's Kelly Wallace live in Jerusalem now.
Start us off, Kelly. What's the good news?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news, Kyra, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indicating he is prepared to accept that Mideast road map. This is something the prime minister has refused to do for many weeks now. But we are told after conversations between American and Israeli officials over the past few days in which the Americans really said the Israelis need to come out and accept this road map, even with reservations, the prime minister did just that. Of course, he wanted a guarantee though, and he got it in the form of a Bush administration statement in which the Bush administration said that it shares Israel -- quote -- "real concerns," and that it will address fully and seriously these concerns during implementation of the road map.
So, Kyra, Israeli officials say once they got that guarantee, the prime minister could sign on to the plan. Next step, though, is taking it to his cabinet for approval, and that could happen as early as Sunday -- Kyra.
Kelly, what about the Palestinians? What are they saying?
WALLACE: Well, they are issuing a cautiously optimistic response. They said they welcomed the U.S. statement. They also called the Israeli response encouraging, a positive step in the right direction, they said. But they also said they want to see deeds, not just words. This is the new government led by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, and the Palestinians have said they accept this road map with some reservations, and they have been calling on the Israelis to accept the road map and begin implementation.
So they are cautiously optimistic, hopeful, although there are some skeptics, Kyra, some Palestinians questioning whether Israel will really be prepared to go ahead and implement this road map right now -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. we'll continue to follow that road map. Definitely a long journey. Kelly Wallace, live from Jerusalem, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
