PM: We'll do our best to strengthen Abbas
In speech before French National Assembly Olmert vows to back Palestinian president in order to enable him to lead PA towards adopting Quartet's principles; praises Abbas as opponent of terror
PARIS - Speaking before the French National Assembly and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed Wednesday to support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and enable him to lead the Palestinian Authority towards adopting the principles set by the Quartet: Recognizing Israel, renouncing terror and standing by its previous agreements with Israel.
Abbas, the PM noted, is a democratically elected chairman and an opponent of terror, forced to deal with a complex and violent reality and a government founded on a terror organization that wishes to destroy Israel, "like Iran's President Ahmadinejad."
Israel-France relations 'better than ever' (Photo: Reuters)
"We will do our best in order to give him the power to lead these principles, which will serve as guidelines for the Palestinian Authority as a whole," Olmert said in an unprecedented statement.
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"We shall seek out any possible way to support the Palestinian leader Abbas, a man who on many occasions voiced his objection to terror," he stated.
Olmert stressed that in any event, "we have decided to move forward in order to bring about the result everyone wishes to see: A Palestinian state and defensible borders for Israel. We will continue in this direction, with or without negotiations. I am sure we will receive the backing and support of all the states that want this same result."
French PM: We will stand by Israel
The French PM, on his part, praised relations between Israel and France as being "better than ever," and said that the French Republic was committed to Israel's safety and security. "We will stand by Israel and protect it. the logic of the conflict cannot be allowed to push events forward," he stated.
De Villepin also called on the international community to promote the mechanism aimed at providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
"I understand that your government's first option is negotiations and a diplomatic solution," he told Olmert, adding: "You can rely on France to assist you in this."
Referring to the Iranian nuclear armament threat, the French PM slammed the anti-Semitic declarations emanating from Tehran, and said that the country's uranium enrichment program needs to be monitored by the Chinese, the French and the Americans. Both sides must return to the negotiating table and closely inspect the Western proposals made to Iran, he concluded.
French Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Photo: Reuters
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