Israel Matzav

Solana looking for a legacy?

In an interview with Israel Radio's HaBoker HaZeh (This Morning) program on Monday morning, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that European foreign policy chief Javier Solana (pictured here with Hezbullah representative Hussein Hajj Hassan) was 'looking for a legacy' when he called for an 'imposed solution' in the event that Israel did not accept 'Palestinian' demands. The interview was translated by the foreign ministry.

Aryeh Golan: We have with us this morning Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman. Good morning, sir.
Minister Avigdor Liberman: Good morning.

Golan: So, in addition to the massive, continuous, nonstop American pressure to halt all construction in [West Bank] settlements, Europe is now proposing, through Javier Solana, that the U.N. unilaterally announce the establishment of a Palestinian state, should the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians fail. It would seem that all your visits to Europe, and the Prime Minister's visits, and all the talks you held, have not had any effect on the person in charge of the EU's foreign policy, and he is now talking about a double agreement.

Minister Liberman: Actually, I don't think this truly represents the stand taken by the European Union. I think the statement should be construed in the context of a very human situation. Javier Solana is about to retire, he will be leaving his position by the end of the year, someone else will replace him. Like anyone else in a similar situation, he too is attempting to make a few statements, to leave a legacy, to be remembered for some unique accomplishment. But when push comes to shove, everyone knows that the existing agreements in this region were never achieved by coercion but only by direct communication between the two parties. We have the successful precedents of the peace with Egypt and peace with Jordan, both of which were achieved only by direct talks between the two parties. Therefore we hold on to the concept that peace cannot be forced upon anyone; peace must be built. It is up to us to build peace, it cannot be achieved by coercion.

Golan: So what you are saying is that neither the United States nor Europe will support such a forced solution.

Minister Liberman: Only recently we heard President Obama speaking in great detail about the conflict in the Middle East, and he too said that there is no substitute for direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and that nothing can be accomplished by coercion. So far our entire policy and practice in our dealings with the UN and Europe have been based on this concept. Therefore I repeat that, with all due respect to Solana, his statement was the type one makes before retiring or stepping down; one should not read too much into it.

Golan: In fact we're waiting to say to him, "Goodbye, Javier".

Minister Liberman: We're not waiting for anyone, we do not get involved, especially not in what happens in the European parliament; there have been elections there and there will be significant changes.

I don't believe that Solana is doing this only because he's leaving. And I believe that the Europeans would gladly impose a solution on us if they could. And down the road, Obama may decide that he wishes to impose a solution on us as well. Unfortunately, Lieberman is being far too cavalier about the prospect of an imposed solution in this interview. I would hope that Israel will resist any attempt to impose a solution. But Obama has at least one aide who supports sending troops here to establish a 'Palestinian' state reichlet and I don't believe we can dismiss the possibility that the US and/or Europe may try to do that some day.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:30 AM