Rice: Sharon's Settler Ties Precluded US Pressure
(IsraelNN.com) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the BBC Tuesday that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's role as "father of the settlement movement" made pressuring Israel to engage in negotiations difficult for her.
"I've always believed that there is a very important role for diplomatic multilateral engagement, but it comes at the right time," she said, answering a question about why after seven years the Bush administration is suddenly demanding accelerated negotiations.
"So for instance, on the Middle East peace process, I don't think in 2001, with the intifada having just been launched and frankly, Ariel Sharon, the father of the settlement movement, having just been elected prime minister of Israel, that there was much prospect for a final-status negotiation. And so we've worked progressively over the years to help build a new foundation,new circumstances and we've now gotten to a place where we can do that."
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