Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Obama, Abdullah Give Support for Two-State Process

(Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed their support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians as the path to peace in the region and said they expect a resumption of negotiations.

Israel and the Palestinians “can’t talk forever” and “have got to make a decision” to move forward, Obama said after meeting with Abdullah at the White House. “As hard as it is, as difficult as it may be, the prospect of peace still exists, but it’s going to require some hard choices, it’s going to require resolution on the part of all the actors involved.”

“Steps have to be taken so that people can see progress,” Obama said. “That will be something that we will expect to take place in the coming months,” he said, adding that the U.S. “is going to deeply engage in this process” to hasten progress.