President Obama Meets with Prime Minister Netanyahu

Elanna Cahn — October 1, 2013 – 10:57 am | Barack Obama | Foreign Policy | Iran | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

Yesterday, President Obama met with Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Oval Office. Below is a seclected transcript of their remarks after meeting. In descibing their releationship, the President said of Prime Minister Netanyahu: “He is always candid, and we’re always able to have not only a good working relationship at the prime ministerial level, but also because of the outstanding work that our staffs do.”

The two leaders discussed the situations in Syria, Egypt, and Iran, with the President once again affirming the unshakable bonf between the United States and the Israeli people.

For more on the meeting between President Obama and the Prime Minister, please click here.

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA

AND PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU OF ISRAEL

AFTER BILATERAL MEETING

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, it’s a pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu back to the Oval Office.  I think I’ve had the pleasure of hosting him more often than just about any other world leader, and hopefully this will provide just some small measure of repayment for the wonderful visit that I had in Israel this spring.  And I want to thank him and his family and his entire team for the tremendous hospitality that we had when we were there.

The Prime Minister and I were just talking about the fact these are hectic times, and nowhere is that more true, obviously, than in the Middle East.  And so we had an opportunity for a wide-ranging discussion about a range of issues. 

I commended him for entering into good-faith negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in discussing how we can resolve what has been, obviously, one of the biggest challenges for a very long time in the region.  And both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas have assigned outstanding negotiators.  They have been engaging in serious conversations.  And our goal continues to be to help facilitate—not dictate, but facilitate—the kinds of genuine negotiations that will result in two states living side-by-side in peace and security….

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Mr. President, thank you for welcoming me and my delegation on what I know is a very busy day for you in Washington today.  

There are many things on your plate, but I know that you know and the American people know that there is no better ally—more reliable, more stable, more democratic—other than Israel in a very raw, dangerous place.  So I welcome the opportunity that we’re having to discuss how we work closely together to address the enormous challenges that face both of us.  And I think of those, the most important challenge is preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

I appreciate deeply the fact that you have made clear that you remain committed to this goal.  I also appreciate the statement you made that Iran’s conciliatory words have to be matched by real actions—transparent, verifiable, meaningful actions.  

Iran is committed to Israel’s destruction.  So for Israel, the ultimate test of a future agreement with Iran is whether or not Iran dismantles its military nuclear program.  We have a saying in Hebrew, we call it mivchan hatotza’a —you would say it in English, what’s the bottom line?  And the bottom line, again, is that Iran fully dismantles its military nuclear program.  

In this regard, I want to express my appreciation to you for the enormous work that’s been done to have a sanctions regime in place to thwart Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.  I believe that it’s the combination of a credible military threat and the pressure of those sanctions that has brought Iran to the negotiating table…

 

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