UNITED NATIONS — Raising the stakes further in his drive to make Middle East peace, President Barack Obama on Thursday called on Arab states and others to do much more to support the peace talks and the fragile Palestinian leadership.
Using his annual U.N. General Assembly address to push an initiative that many in the Middle East think is doomed to failure, Obama diplomatically berated Arab leaders who have long demanded a stronger U.S. role in establishing a Palestinian state.
“Many in this hall count themselves as friends of the Palestinians. But these pledges must now be supported by deeds. Those who have signed on to the Arab Peace Initiative should seize this opportunity to make it real by taking tangible steps toward the normalization that it promises Israel,” Obama said, referring to a 2002 Arab peace offer.
“Those who speak out for Palestinian self-government should help the Palestinian Authority politically and financially and, in so doing, help the Palestinians build the institutions of their state,” he said. “And those who long to see an independent Palestine rise must stop trying to tear Israel down.”
Obama’s remarks reflected his administration’s frustration that Saudi Arabia and other Arab states besides Egypt and Jordan, which have made peace with Israel, have been cool to his efforts and have lagged in providing promised funds to the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas.
The amount of time he devoted to the issue was unusual, and the emphasis he put on it is risky. Obama took to the podium three days before Israel’s moratorium on new Jewish settlements in the West Bank is due to expire. The Palestinians have said they’ll bolt the talks if construction resumes, and it’s unclear whether a compromise can be found.
On another tough foreign policy problem, Obama met for two hours with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in a session dominated by Washington’s demands that China let its currency float freely, U.S. officials said.
There’s growing support on Capitol Hill for legislation to punish China. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that she supports a bill that would allow the Commerce Department to impose duties on Chinese goods to offset the reduced prices that are a product of what U.S. officials say is China’s artificially low exchange rate.
Obama “made clear (to Wen) that we’re expecting to see more action, more significant movement” on currency revaluation, said Jeffrey Bader, a senior U.S. National Security Council aide. “If the Chinese don’t take action, we have other means of protecting U.S. interests,” Bader said, apparently referring in part to action through the World Trade Organization.
On Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, Obama used his speech to tell Tehran that “the door remains open to diplomacy.”
But he added that Iran must demonstrate a “clear and credible commitment” to addressing widespread suspicion that its nuclear work is aimed at developing a weapon.
Senior U.S. officials say that in the aftermath of harsh international sanctions, Iran’s leaders are debating whether to resume negotiations.
In a reminder of the vast divide that separates the two countries, however, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadine jad suggested in a speech several hours after Obama’s that the U.S. government was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and that Israel was the beneficiary.
The U.S. delegation and several European delegations walked out in protest, as the U.S. delegation also did last year.
