Egypt FM: Obama’s Speech an Opportunity to Tell Muslims “We are Not Your Enemy”

Washington - In the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama visit to Egypt and his highly anticipated speech to the Muslim World from Cairo on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit spoke to Al-Hayat about his expectations on the speech, and his take on the major challenges facing the Middle East today including Iran and the Peace Process.

The conversation took place during Abul Gheit visit to Washington this week, and following is the transcript:

-You have just finished your visit to Washington. You met Secretary Hillary Clinton and other senior US officials, what can you tell us about those meetings?

The general mood of the meetings was very positive. We find a high degree of understanding from the Obama administration to Egypt’s positions and concerns. We emphasized during the meetings the urgency of the Peace Process and the need to push for a settlement on a Palestinian-Israeli track. The administration should avoid the “step by step” approach and instead work with the international community to put forward a comprehensive vision for a settlement to be implemented within a reasonable time line.

We pointed in our meetings to the Arab Peace initiative and the equation of land for peace. If Israel accepts the idea of a Palestinian state, and if such a state emerges and sees the light, then the Arab world will show readiness to have positive relations with Israel. Members of the U.S. administration understand this proposal and they are trying to create the right atmosphere to revamp the peace efforts.

- Did you get the sense that this administration is preparing a Peace Plan?

We touched upon this in our conversation.They are going in such direction and are waiting for the right time to pitch a set of ideas or a plan for a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

- Could this plan come before the end of the year?

They did not specify what a reasonable time line meant, but having such a plan before the end of the year is something I think is a real possibility.

-Did the US officials link the progress on the Peace Process to the Iranian issue?

No, they avoided linking the two issues. We were clear also in warning them from doing so, and emphasizing the need for separating the two problems. Reaching a settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli problem and simultaneously a comprehensive peace is a very urgent matter and demands immediate attention. If such a settlement is reached, this will help in dealing with the Iranian issue. They remain, however, two different set of problems.

-President Obama will be in Egypt next week for a highly anticipated speech to the Muslim world, what is your take on the event?

President Obama picked Egypt because it is an Arab, and Muslim country and Cairo is the home of the oldest Islamic institution of learning, Al-Azhar University. The diversity of cultures in Egypt with a large Coptic society, and the Arab and African and Mulsim cross cultures put us at the heart of the Muslim world today.

-What do you expect from the speech?

We hope that President Obama addresses the problems behind the disconnect between the Muslim and Western cultures and which have so far prevented a harmonious interaction between the two. We have seen a clash between those two civilizations for more than two decades and perhaps with the collapse of the USSR. It is time for the leader of the most powerful country in the west to address the Muslims and tell them “we are not your enemy”. However, he will also have to set the standards for a healthy relationship that brings balance and understanding between the two cultures, absent of the use of force and other negative elements we have seen in the past years.

-On the political aspect, what are your expectations from the speech?

This would be in relation to addressing the problems that created such degree of anger in the Arab and Muslim world. The Palestinian cause is at the heart of these problems and dominates the Arab conscious, and it demands a settlement because it has widened the gap between those two cultures. We hope that President Obama will lay out his intentions for a settlement.

-Can the American efforts lead to progress in the Peace process, notwithstanding the obstacles on the ground mainly a right wing Israeli government and lack of a Palestinian unity government?

We need to encourage the administration’s efforts and convince them to accept the challenge. If we succumb to the political hurdles such as Palestinian divisions and Israeli evasiveness, this will lead to desperation. We admit that it’s complex and there are problems, but we want the right approach to deal with them and start implementing it. We are ready to work with anyone who desires to push for peace including the U.S. administration.

-Secretary Hillary Clinton spoke at one of her hearings about divisions within Hamas, between the leadership of Damascus and Gaza, do you agree?

These are speculations, and they remain hard to confirm or deny. What I can emphasize is that any divisions among Palestinians will lead to further fragmentation and this is not in the interest of the Palestinian cause. Palestinians should unite, and if they fail, this will bring negative implications.

-What is your assessment of the Syrian role today on the level of the Palestinian unity talks and the peace process?

We haven’t seen any negative role from Syria. On the contrary, my colleagues in Syria express with great openness their desire to help, and we take their word for it.

-Have the Syrian-Egyptian relations improved?

Yes. The two Presidents (Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad) have met and I met as well my Syrian counterpart (Walid Mouallem). There is no tension in the horizon. We see sustained attempts to reach an understanding and concord, and we hope that the coming period will have more movement in that direction.

-Will making progress on the Peace process help in containing the Iranian influence in the region?

Reaching a Palestinian-Israeli settlement should be seen for its own merits and in irrelevant of other issues. We are not bothered by Iranian attempts to have a role here and there. What bothers us is Iran trying to exploit Arab issues as cards to use in its conflict with the West. Iran should refrain from using Arab issues as cards to reach Iranian goals.

-Any concerns or fears of a US-Iran grand?

The issue is not about a grand bargain. It is to reaffirm that the Arab region is sovereign, and no other party should exercise sovereignty in the Arab region except Arabs. If they want to say that Iran should have wide influence and power in the region and in Arab countries, our message will be the land if Arabs is for the Arabs. This is our repeated message for the US and the West, We told them that we welcome negotiations with Iran and reach a settlement on nuclear issue that would prevent a nuclear armed Iran. The Egyptian position supports a nuclear-free Middle East. However Iranian behavior should be contained, so we don’t see Iranian attempts to meddle intensly in Arab affairs.

-Where has the investigation on the Hizballah cell operating in Egypt reached?

The investigation continues, and there are some new developments being discovered about the cell. The general prosecutor will submit the case to the court and it will be out in public.

-Is Hizballah’s escalation in rhetoric against Egypt particularly in Syed Hassan Nasrallah speeches related to those developments?

Those speeches are not that relevant to me personally. Egypt as a country is bigger than any leader or party. Egypt is much bigger, and for anyone who doesn’t realize this by now, the future will be his or her mentor.