US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, in unusually candid remarks, said on Thursday the US was in a stalemate in efforts to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
"We're having a great deal of difficulty," Armitage told Egypt TV.
"[Palestinian] Prime Minister [Ahmed] Qureia is not able or willing to make any tough stands on the question of security; and on the other side, the Israelis are intent on not compromising either," Armitage said. "So we're at a bit of a stalemate."
Anticipating talks in the Middle East with a senior US diplomat, Israeli officials later told the White House that prospects for reviving the peace plan looked bleak.
In his meeting with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and other senior US officials, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff, Dov Weissglass, offered little hope for re-engaging with the Palestinian Authority unless conditions change.
Israeli officials said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat effectively stripped the new prime minister of any real power over security forces, despite US pressure.
The US has been under fire for a lack of involvement in peace efforts despite threats from both sides that could sink the US-backed "road map" peace plan.
Critics said US President George W. Bush's decision this week to omit the conflict from his keynote State of the Union speech showed he was unwilling to play an active mediating role as he runs for re-election.
Still, Armitage cited a trip to the region next week by two senior US officials as evidence "we continue to be fully engaged."
The No. 2 US diplomat, who last year called the road map "very rutted and bumpy," reiterated US opposition to Israel building a barrier through the West Bank but acknowledged Washington's limited influence over the Jewish state.
"Sometimes Israel changes, sort of, the direction of the wall and sometimes we have more difficult discussions," Armitage said in the interview, a transcript of which was released by the State Department.
Israel has threatened a unilateral separation along the line of the wall snaking through the West Bank that it says is to keep out suicide bombers. Palestinians call it a bid to annex or fragment occupied land and have said they could respond by demanding a single bi-national state.
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
The subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Kumamoto, Japan, turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, marking the first time the first fab of the unit has become profitable since mass production started at the end of 2024. According to the contract chipmaker’s financial statement released on Friday, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), a joint venture running the fab in Kumamoto, posted NT$951 million (US$30.19 million) in profit in the January-to-March period, compared with a loss of NT$1.39 billion in the previous quarter, and a loss of NT$3.25 billion in the first quarter of
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
RSS