OBAMA PLEDGE ON MIDEAST SOLUTION
By Edward Luce and Delphine Strauss in Ankara and Roula Khalaf in London

FT
April 6 2009 22:33

Barack Obama on Monday offered his clearest pledge since taking office
to pursue a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians,
as he took his message of remaking US relations with the Muslim world
to Turkey.

President Obama urged Israel and the Palestinians to "live up to
the commitments they have made", in what is likely to be seen as a
rebuke to Israel’s new rightwing government, whose foreign minister
last week distanced himself from a 2007 US-backed process to create
a Palestinian state.

In an address to the Turkish parliament, the US president also
carefully prodded his hosts to make progress on talks with neighbouring
Armenia and restated the US’s support for Turkey to join the European
Union.

His remarks came on the closing leg of an eight-day tour of Europe,
in which he made Turkey the last stop, in part to deliver a symbolic
statement about bridging the divide between east and west after the
"mistrust" created by the presidency of George W. Bush.

"Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not at
war with Islam," he said. "I also want to be clear that America’s
relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on
opposition to al-Qaeda. We seek broad engagement based upon mutual
interests and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, bridge
misunderstanding, and seek common ground."

Mr Obama has sought to reach out to Muslims by quickly appointing
a Middle East envoy; giving an Arabic television station his first
interview with a foreign broadcaster; and making clear that he wants
engagement with Iran. He took his message on Monday to the heart of
a Muslim capital and insisted that he saw engagement with the Muslim
world as a dialogue based on mutual respect.

Reactions to the US president in the Muslim world have been both
hopeful and cautious, with many people appreciating the new tone,
but also waiting to see concrete changes in US policies.

While reaction in the Muslim world has been cautiously hopeful,
many are also waiting to see concrete changes in US policy.

Abdelaziz al-Qassim, a Saudi analyst, said Mr Obama was creating
a new mood in the region and was clearly "a man of initiative,
of values". But he said there were still questions about "what he
will do".

In the Arab world, the biggest question is how far the new president
will go in putting pressure on Israel to pursue negotiations on a
Palestinian state.

Mr Obama’s US president, who concludes his tour today in Istanbul
with a "town hall" event, where he will take questions from ordinary
Muslims, also sought Turkey’s20help in pursuing a two-state solution
and in brokering successful talks between Israel and Syria.

Although Mr Obama did not offer any radical new policies on the issue,
his language was studiously even-handed.

"Let me be clear: Regarding negotiations On a Palestinian state, he
said: "The United States strongly supports the goal of two states,
Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."