Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Obama tells UN only talks will create Palestinian state

US President Barack Obama told the United Nations that the Palestinians deserved a state of their own, but that this would only be achieved through talks with Israel.

"I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN," Obama said in his speech to the UN General Assembly.

"Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians - not us - who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem," the text of his speech said.

"There is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace is hard work," Obama told an annual gathering of world leaders. Grappling with economic woes and low poll numbers at home and growing doubts about his leadership abroad, Obama is wading into Middle East diplomacy at a critical juncture for his presidency and America's credibility around the globe.

Obama followed his speech with a round of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who echoed the president's assertion that renewed negotiations were the only path to a peace deal but offered no new ideas how to get back to the table. He said, however, that the Palestinians' UN statehood effort "will not succeed."