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Olmert would "love to meet" the "remarkable" Abdullah, but no meeting are currently scheduled
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners March 30, 2007 |
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Despite the threatening ultimatum coming from the Riyadh summit, Israeli PM Ehu Olmert had warm words for Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, calling him a "remarkable leader." Even though the Arab League rejected all pleading for changes, and simply reaffirmed the "Saudi Plan" originally ratified in 2002, Olmert cooed at what he termed a positive development.
"The Saudi initiative, which he initiated when he was the crown prince, was very interesting. It indicated a greater sense of responsibility that Saudi Arabia is prepared to take in the politics of the Middle East," Olmert said, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post.
Asked what made Abdullah "remarkable," Olmert said, "For many years, they [the Saudis] were not there. For many years, they were on the other side, perhaps on the extreme. And now they start to understand that Israel is a reality, that Israel is maybe not such a negative reality. And considering that Saudi Arabia is the most important Arab country, with enormous influence on everyone, don't take it lightly."
He did object to the insistence of the Arab Summit on including in the plan the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel, and vowed that "not one" refugee would return. He ignored the insistence of the Arab League at the Summit that the "right of return" was an inseparable part of the deal and that Israeli rejection would be a cause for war.
Olmert said he "would have loved to meet" Abdullah, but that he didn't "think such meetings are being scheduled."
Other Saudi "Scheduling Problems"
Meanwhile, the Saudis are apparently playing hard to get with another suitor, the Americans, rejecting the U.S. Administration's offer to host a gala event in Washington on April 17th because of "scheduling problems."
Pundits indicate that American officials found the excuse unconvincing and suspect that the Saudi coolness, emphasized by uncharacteristically critical remarks about the American role in Iraq at the Riyadh Summit, indicate that Saudi Arabia is indicating displeasure with the United States and threatening to distance itself further from the U.S. and approach Russia, China and Iran.
According to the report, reported in YnetNews, Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi national security adviser, flew to Washington last week to explain to US President George W. Bush that April 17 posed a scheduling problem. But administration sources reported that Bush and his senior advisers were not convinced by Bandar's vagueness -- especially since it followed Saudi decisions to seek common ground with Iran and the radicals of Hizbullah and Hamas instead of confronting them as part of Rice's proposed "realignment" of the Middle East into moderates and extremists."
Official US sources expressed their surprise over the remarks, and simultaneously tried to minimize the criticism and imply that there may have been a mistake in the translation. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said that the US viewed Saudi Arabia as a courageous friend and ally, and praised its efforts to being about reconciliation in the Middle East and the good relations between the Saudi leadership and the Bush administration.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz indicated his general support for parts of the Saudi Plan and suggested that Israel should look favorably on the diplomatic moves.
Despite the admiring words for Abdullah, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are on record only as "studying" the Saudi plan and the Riyadh Summit decisions.
Defense Ministry officials also have been closely following the discussion at the Saudi summit in the past two days. During Thursday's discussion, Peretz said that Israel should be satisfied with the fact that the Arab consensus adopted formulas for ending the conflict with Israel.
Israel must not be portrayed as the one who refused to accept the Arab peace initiative, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Thursday during a discussion at his office on the Arab League summit in Riyadh.
Hower Peretz said that his preference was that Israel launch its own diplomatic initiative, in order to discuss the principles for a permanent agreement with Palestinian President Abbas. But lacking such a plan, Israel may as well consider using the Saudi plan as a starting point:
He defined the Arab initiative as "an important initiative" and advised that "we must view the glass as half full. It is a mistake to ignore it and leave the arena for others."
"The Arab initiative is a basis for discussing the permanent agreement," Peretz said. He added that "we must view any Palestinian who clearly accepts the Saudi initiative as one who has taken an important step toward a dialogue with Israel, without ignoring the demand to release Gilad Shalit."
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