April 18, 2009

Cairo, Egypt

I thank the Foreign Minister for his courtesy and hospitality. I want to thank also President Mubarak and General Soleiman, with whom we met and continue to meet in our efforts to further the policies of the United States under President Obama to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. When President Obama appointed me as his envoy to the Middle East two days after he took office, I left immediately for this region and the very first place I came to was Egypt. That was because the President believes, and I believe, that a comprehensive peace in the Middle East will be possible only as a result of the leadership of Egypt - President Mubarak, the Foreign Minister, and the entire government - which has been central to our efforts to advance toward that objective. As the Foreign Minister indicated, I am now in the middle of an extensive and lengthy trip throughout the region, meeting with the leaders of many governments in an effort to pursue our policies. It has been the policy of the United States, for many years, under presidents of both political parties, that the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies in a two-state solution. That continues to be the policy of President Obama, one that we will pursue with great energy and vigor. We believe that a comprehensive Middle East peace is not only in the interest of people in the Middle East - Palestinians, Israelis, Egyptians, Arabs from many other countries - but is also in the national interest of the United States and in the interest of people throughout the world. We recognize the complexities, the difficulties. We are aware of the long history of expectations being raised and then not being met, but we are going to proceed carefully, and as rapidly as possible, with a full commitment to that objective, a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Thank you all very much, and my thanks again to the Foreign Minister.