At UN talks, Bush praises Sharon’s brave leadership

NEW YORK – U.S. President George W. Bush praised Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday for the implementation of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip, as the two met for talks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In their talks, which followed Bush’s address to the General Assembly, the president lauded the prime minister’s brave leadership, which he said had reinvigorated the chances for peace. Bush said that he knew that the pullout had been difficult, but added that he appreciated it and was looking forward to discussing with Sharon the advancement of the road map peace plan. The president told Sharon that it was time for the Palestinians to unite under one leadership and live in peace with Israel. He added that the global community must help Gaza develop its own economy. Sharon thanked Bush for his comments, and said he was pleased that the two could be working together to promote peace in the Middle East. Sharon’s own speech to the General Assembly on Thursday is expected to stress the bond between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and will call on the Palestinian leadership to clamp down on lawlessness. The prime minister arrived in New York on Tuesday to attend the General Assembly, which marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the UN. He was to attend the opening session, join the group photo of world leaders, and take part in a discussion, chaired by Bush, on the advance of democracy. The prime minister was also set to tell the Assembly that now Israel has acknowledged the right of a Palestinian state to exist, the time has come for the Palestinians to acknowledge that Israel also has that right. Sharon is expected to call on the PA to put an end to the lawlessness that has grown rampant throughout Gaza and return to the internationally borokered road map peace plan. Following his speech Thursday, Sharon will meet with a long list of world leaders. The American president is at the UN for one day only, and Sharon is one of the few leaders on his schedule. According to a source in Sharon’s entourage, Bush asked to meet with Sharon as part of his expression of deep admiration for the way in which the disengagement was carried out, and for the way Sharon lived up to his commitments. „The American tendency now is to concentrate only on Gaza,” the source said. „The United States sees Gaza as completely under independent Palestinian control, without any connection to the legal nitpicking over the end of the occupation. „The Palestinian Authority now has full responsibility for the territory and the people, and the whole world wants to see what they do with it. They have been waiting for this moment for 38 years. One of the results of the disengagement is that the Palestinians will for the first time be getting a bicycle without training wheels, and they will have to ride alone. They have all the elements needed to have an independent state, apart from the formal status of a state.” Sharon told the reporters on the flight to New York that he was not surprised by the Palestinian behavior in the Gaza Strip after the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces on Monday. „I didn’t think it would be any different,” Sharon said, but he expressed hope that the situation will settle down. „They too realize that they need to take control there,” he said in reference to the PA in Gaza. During the GA, Sharon will meet with the leaders of Russia, Great Britain, Turkey, Jordan, Canada, Australia, the European Union, as well as the UN general secretary. He may also meet for the first time with the emir of Qatar. Sharon said that no meeting was scheduled with Pakistani Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf, „and that kind of thing doesn’t happen by chance,” Sharon said. „I don’t meet with anyone by chance.” For Sharon, the timing of the GA is ideal, coming during the week in which Israel completed the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and international support for Israel is at its peak. In his talk with reporters, Sharon emphasized that he carried out his promises, which in turn have led to positive results. BPI-info