Peace requires the active involvement of the international community. The critical role played by the United States, and especially the relentless dedication and unequivocal commitment of President Bill Clinton, has been massive and constructive. We have also seen the European Union rising to the task, and we commend the role of the French Presidency and that of other key European governments. Peace needs your advice and it will need your support to cement it once it is achieved. I believe that it is also important that Russia, Asia and the Arab world express their opinion that now is the time to make historical decisions.
Time is an elusive and perishable commodity.
We are all running out of it. Mr. President We are open to developing wide spaces of cooperation with our Palestinian neighbours and indeed with all the countries of the Middle East. But, we do not intend to impose our experience on anybody, nor is it our intention to assert our economic or technological presence amidst those of our neighbors who do not want it. Indeed, small islands of excellence notwithstanding, the Middle East is in grave danger of being on the wrong side of the digital divide. Nothing will make us happier than joining hands with all of the countries of the Middle East, with dignity and mutuality, in this most noble of struggles.