http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/world/24prexy.html?ref=global-home
Obama Urges World Leaders to Support Mideast Talks Doug Mills/The New York Times President Barack Obama spoke at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday in New York. By DAVID E. SANGER and JACK HEALY Published: September 23, 2010 UNITED NATIONS - Telling the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday that his efforts to engage friends and adversaries were beginning to bear fruit, President Obama called on Arab states to support fragile Middle East peace talks and warned Iran that it would face sustained international pressure if it did not negotiate seriously over its nuclear program. Related a.. Text: Obama's Remarks at the United Nations (September 24, 2010) One year after delivering a sweeping speech here that promised a new era of American engagement with the world, Mr. Obama returned to the General Assembly to defend his record on pursuing peace and helping to heal the global economy. In a wide-ranging speech, Mr. Obama urged Iran to resume talks over its nuclear program, saying that "the door remains open to diplomacy should Iran choose to walk through it." "But the Iranian government must demonstrate a clear and credible commitment, and confirm to the world the peaceful intent of its nuclear program," he said, adding that Iran "must be held accountable" if it fails to meet its obligations under international nonproliferation treaties. In June, the United Nations Security Council imposed its fourth round of sanctions against Iran, which were followed up by harsher unilateral measures by the United States and European and Asian nations. On Wednesday, Russia made clear it would not be fulfilling a contract to sell Iran an advanced missile system. Mr. Obama also called on Israel to extend its freeze on building new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, construction that is one of the most contentious issues between Israelis and Palestinians. The moratorium is set to expire this weekend, and hard-won talks could be stymied if the Israelis fail to extend it and the Palestinians decide to walk away from the table. "Our position on this issue is well known," Mr. Obama said. "We believe that the moratorium should be extended. We also believe that talks should press on until completed." The Israeli delegation was not in the hall of the General Assembly to hear his words; Israeli diplomats did not work on Thursday in observance of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The Palestinian Authority's president, Mahmoud Abbas, listened from the back of the auditorium. Clashes on Wednesday between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in the Old City of Jerusalem underscored the fragile state of affairs in the region and the potential for violent outbursts if the negotiations fall apart. Mr. Obama acknowledged the possibility of "terror, or turbulence, or posturing, or petty politics" to disrupt the negotiations, but exhorted world leaders to stand behind the peace process. "When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations - an independent state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel," Mr. Obama said. Mr. Obama, at turns sweeping and philosophical, told the assembled delegates and world leaders that it was "our destiny" to endure a time of recession, war and conflict, and spoke out broadly in support of open governments and human rights. But he glossed over some of the United States' most difficult foreign policy problems. North Korea - a nonproliferation treaty violator thought to have eight or more nuclear weapons - was mentioned once, as a "regime that enslaves its own people." Speaking about Iraq, Mr. Obama noted that American troops had been withdrawing "responsibly" as combat operations officially ended this summer, but he did not address how to resolve the political stalemate and spasms of violence that have gripped the country since parliamentary elections more than six months ago. And even as he said that the United States was "waging a more effective fight" against Al Qaeda and breaking the momentum of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, Mr. Obama said little about the progress of a war he had decided to escalate with the addition of thousands of troops. This week, as Afghan officials continued to tally ballots from parliamentary elections, the number of NATO soldier deaths in Afghanistan for 2010 passed annual tallies for every year since the war began in 2001. Rising numbers of military and civilian casualties, coupled with concerns about a resilient Taliban and weakened central government, have raised increasing doubts about whether Mr. Obama could begin withdrawing American troops by a self-imposed deadline of next summer. Even so, he reiterated his commitment to that date on Thursday, saying that "a transition to Afghan responsibility" would begin in July. After addressing the assembly, Mr. Obama met with the Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, and other Chinese and American officials. The leaders' comments afterward, largely hailing cooperation, skipped over an array of difficult issues. There was no mention of China's currency policy, nor of the immediate territorial dispute between China and Japan. 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