Yesterday I said Obama will treat Avigdor Lieberman like a non-person. In my dreams. Hillary Clinton had a phone call with Avigdor Lieberman yesterday, congratulating him on his new job, Foreign Minister. Can you imagine any American official phoning up Jorg Haider? From the State Department yesterday, transcript after the jump:
QUESTION: New topic. A topic – new topic. Israeli foreign minister said he’s going to meet with Secretary Clinton. Is there any specific date and place set right now?
MR. WOOD: No, they – the Secretary had a conversation
with Foreign Minister Lieberman. It was yesterday. It was primarily to
congratulate him on coming into his new position, but no dates have
been set for any type of meeting.
QUESTION: What about Ambassador Mitchell?
MR. WOOD: He’s going to the region soon. I don’t have
dates for you yet, because I don’t think they’ve been worked out, but
he’s planning to travel to the area.
Yes, Matt.
QUESTION: Did the Secretary seek from the foreign minister any kind of an assurance on his position regarding a two-state solution in the Annapolis process?
MR. WOOD: It was a brief call. What I can tell you
about the call is that she looked forward to getting together with him.
But just to make it very clear, Matt, that our position has been for
quite some time and remains focused on a two-state solution.
QUESTION: Did she make that clear to him?
MR. WOOD: That – our position is well-known by all the players in the Israeli Government.
QUESTION: Well, he had some – you know, several
controversial comments yesterday, presumably before this phone call
took place. She didn’t raise them at all or seek an assurance that the
—
MR. WOOD: Matt, I’m not going to get into much more detail than I have on this call, but —
QUESTION: I’m not asking for detail. I’m just asking if she brought up anything other than congratulations and I hope I see you soon?
MR. WOOD: Look, I think – the Secretary looks forward to meeting with the foreign minister.
QUESTION: I got that. I understand that part.
MR. WOOD: Okay. And – and I draw you to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s
comments yesterday about wanting to engage on the peace process, and
his commitment to peace in the region. And again, this is a – this
government is, what, a day or so old. It’s —
QUESTION: Right. Maybe I’m not making the question clear enough. Did the Secretary yesterday speak to —
MR. WOOD: Try it one more time.
QUESTION: — ask the foreign minister about his position on either Annapolis or the whole idea of the two-state solution?
MR. WOOD: Look, we have had discussions with a number
of officials in the Israeli Government about this issue. He is
certainly – Foreign Minister Lieberman is well aware of what our
position is.
QUESTION: Whether he is well aware of it or not, did
this issue come up in the phone call, or was it simply a phone call to
say congratulations and I hope I see you soon?
MR. WOOD: Well, it was – as I said, it was a very
brief phone call. She wanted to congratulate him on assuming his
position. They look forward to getting together at some point.
QUESTION: I’m sorry. I’m curious –
MR. WOOD: You know, I don’t want to get – obviously, I don’t want to get beyond that. But I just want to reiterate for you —
QUESTION: (Laughter.) Well, yeah, obviously. But did
– well, did anything other than “Congratulations and I hope I see you
soon” come up in the phone call or was that it?
MR. WOOD: Well, I can only – I got a readout of the
phone call. I wasn’t on the phone call. But the important point here,
Matt, to make, as I made already, is that a two-state solution —
QUESTION: Forget about the phone call. Is the
Administration convinced that the new Israeli Government, including its
foreign minister, is committed to finding the solution – a two-state
solution to this conflict?
MR. WOOD: Look, I can only go by what has been said
by the prime minister, who is the head of the Israeli Government. And
he said he is committed to a peace process with the Palestinians.
QUESTION: Yeah, but he also refused to use the formula – a two-state solution or a Palestinian state.
MR. WOOD: Well, all I can tell you is that the new
government, as well as the old government, is well aware of where the
United States stands on this. And we are going to pursue that two-state
solution because we believe it’s in the best interests of all the
parties in the region, and we’ll go from there. But it’s – again, it’s
a – the government is very new. The Secretary
is going to have further discussions with both Prime Minister Netanyahu
and Foreign Minister Lieberman and we will go from there. But —
QUESTION: Is the U.S. Administration optimistic about the chances to make progress on the two-state solution?
MR. WOOD: Look, you have to be – in our business, you
have to be optimistic about it.
