Mitt Romney's visit to Israel

This morning (Sunday) the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, met with the Republican candidate to USA presidency, Mitt Romney. At the outset of the meeting, Netanyahu said to Romney: "You are my personal friend and a good friend of the State of Israel, it is my honor to have you here as our guest."

The Prime Minister added that he heard part of the things which Romney said about the fact that the greatest threat to the world is the reign of the Ayatollah's which holds on to nuclear weapons, and he agrees with him one hundred percent. "It is important we do everything in our power to prevent the Ayatollah's from reaching nuclear ability. We must be fair and say that all the diplomatic efforts and sanctions which were placed so far, did not deter the Iranian nuclear plan in any way. Therefore, I believe we need a strong and real military threat next to the sanctions, in order that we have a chance of changing this situation".

The prime minister added and said that during their meeting they will discuss all these issues, and "in an unstable are, like the Middle East of our times. I would like you to know that in all these upheavals, there is one steady ally of the USA in the Middle East, and this is Israel. Therefore I think the strengthening of the relations between our countries is an essential interest to the peace process and to our countries, and I believe your visit here is an expression of the mutual aspiration of our two nations. Welcome, as the representative of the USA which carries the flag of freedom in the world, in the name of the State of Israel, which bears the flag of democracy in the Middle East. Welcome to Jerusalem."

Mitt Romney responded: "Thank you, the Prime Minister, it is my honor to be here today. The friendship between us has been lasting for years, and during these critical times, I have come here in order to learn about your outlook and ideas regarding the challenges in the area and around the world. It is my honor to be here on the day of Tisha Be'av, to recognize the deep meaning of this day, the suffering of the Jewish nations throughout thousands of years, and the sacrifice of so many. Unfortunately, the tragedy of unwanted murder is not only the heritage of the past, and continues to taint our skies lately too.

"I am relating seriously to your perspective regarding Iran and its efforts to attain nuclear power, and am looking forward to discuss with you other steps which we could take in order to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear plan. Your views regarding the developments in the area – Syria, Egypt and other countries, will be of great value. The relations between our countries have been carrying on for many years and are based not only on mutual interests. Like Israel, we are obliged to democracy, to freedom of speech, freedom of unity and guarding human rights. These mutual values and principles helped the strengthening of the connection between our countries over the years. When we face the challenge of Iran which aspires to achieve nuclear ability, we must base ourselves on our interests and values in order to cause it turn to a different path, and to make it clear to the entire world that the USA and Israel are united in their obligations one to the other".

The Israeli president, Shimon Peres, also hosted today the governor Mitt Romney in his residence. The two held a work meeting during which they discussed the Iranian issue, what has been done in Syria, promoting the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, the Israel-Egypt relations and strategic changes which are happening in the Middle East. At the outset of the meeting, the two gave declarations to the media.

President Shimon Peres started out saying: "I am happy to host you here in Jerusalem. The State of Israel sees you as a friend who represents a long way of close partnership between the USA and Israel. The USA's support of Israel is a bipartisan one. And I would like to emphasize positively the latest move of the congress, in which framework a plan for wide-scope security cooperation was signed between our two states. There is a consensus in Israel, a consensus which engulfs all the existing parties regarding the importance of establishing a wide, friendly and valued relationship with America. The nation in Israel thanks the USA for its strong standing to our side. The nation in Israel feels great appreciation for the friendship with the USA".

Mitt Romney responded: "It is my honor to be here with you and hear your views especially on this important day, Tisha Be'av, a time of contemplation, of remembering things done seriously. Israel and the USA have shared a deep and obliging friendship for many years, in which we have held a strong covenant between us. We have mutual interests, values and fears, and together we share the same passion for freedom and democracy, such as the fear and appreciation with everything relating to human rights. We are pursuers of peace and hope to share it with our friends and with other nations around the world. The relations between our countries are strong and stable and fortify with time".

During the meeting, Romney said to Peres: "I've come today to the President's residence in Jerusalem in order to hear you and learn from you. I would like to emphasize that the two parties in the USA have a deep and great obligation towards Israel, its security, the dangers which threaten it - at the head of which are Iran's attempts to acquire nuclear weapons. We all understand what the meaning of a nuclear Iran is to Israel, we all oppose it and are concerned about it".

President Peres also related to the Iranian issue, and mentioned that "He blesses the activity of the World Coalition against nuclear Iran. The coalition made a right move under the leadership of the USA, by placing wide-scope political and economic sanctions and at the same time emphasizes that all options are on the table".

Regarding the Palestinians Peres said: "We must promote negotiations for peace. The sooner the better, the later we delay the opening of peace talks, so will the conditions be harder. Especially on the background of the Arab Renaissance, one must promote the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians". The president also related to the Egyptian context: "It is important for Israel to continue preserving our relations with the new Egyptian leadership".

Romney responded to that: "With the election of an Islamic president in Egypt, we hope to use his weight in influencing the world in order to guarantee a continued obligation to the peace treaties which were signed by Sadat in the past, and we are certain that the peace will continue to dwell between the countries".

Romney asked to hear from the president regarding the relations between Israel and Egypt, and the ways to fortify and extend the relations between the two countries, not only in the political realm, but also in actual economic cooperation, while emphasizing, "Israel is a living example of a start up nation and economic development, of the most advanced in the world – there is no reason that the cooperation between Israel and its neighbors will not be extended, topped by the cooperation between Israel and Egypt".

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