(Chicago Tribune-Christie Parsons).After the Obama/Netanyahu meeting, the two leaders sat in the Oval Office in the wing chairs by the Lincoln bust and spoke to the press. They each gave a statement, and then each took a question from the American press and the Israeli press.
President Obama laughed once or twice at things Netanyahu said, and each man initiated a protracted handshake in front of the television cameras.
Envoy George Mitchell was in the back of the room, near the president's desk, as the two talked.
Highlights:
* Both the president and Prime Minister praised the strength of the bond between the two countries. President Obama pushed back against a question from the Israeli press, when the reporter asked about Obama's "distancing" himself from Israel. "The premise of your question was wrong," Obama said. His public statements have all served as a "constant reaffirmation of the special relationship," he said, and the U.S. commitment to Israel's security have been "unwavering." The U.S. will "back that up, not just with words but with actions," Obama said.
* Netanyahu said the latest sanctions contribute to "delegitimization" of Iran's nuclear program . . . He also seemed to make an oblique reference abut the possibility of harsher consequences for Iran, when he said that the "question of how much you need to bite I cannot answer now." (This was hard to hear, check the transcript.)
* Netanyahu said he would paraphrase Mark Twain by saying that "reports of the demise of the special relationship" between the U.S. and Israel "are just flat wrong."
* Pool heard no talk of settlement freeze, apologies or upcoming trips to Israel, but parts of the remarks were very hard to hear.
The two are now supposed to share a meal together, and then Netanyahu's departure will be subject to pool spray.
