President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair called on Palestinians today to embrace democracy as they move to replace the leadership of Yasser Arafat, saying this was the only way to achieve a viable Palestinian state and lasting peace with Israel.
In a joint White House news conference three hours after Arafat was buried in the West Bank, the two leaders pledged renewed efforts to support the development of democratic institutions in the Palestinian territories and signaled that Middle East peace would be a top priority in Bush's second presidential term.
"Our sympathies are with the Palestinian people as they begin a period of mourning, yet the months ahead offer a new opportunity to make progress toward a lasting peace," Bush said after a meeting with Blair at the White House. Arafat, 75, died in Paris Thursday and was buried in Ramallah today after tumultuous crowds greeted the arrival of his coffin by helicopter from Egypt.
Bush said the United States and Britain look forward to elections to choose a new president of the Palestinian Authority and, later, local and national leaders.
"We're committed to the success of these elections, and we stand ready to help," Bush said. "We look forward to working with a Palestinian leadership that is committed to fighting terror and committed to the cause of democratic reform." He pledged to help mobilize international support to revive the Palestinian economy, build Palestinian security institutions "to fight terror," reform the political system and assist the government in fighting corruption.
"We'll also work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to complete the disengagement plan from Gaza and part of the West Bank," Bush said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to dismantle some Jewish settlements in those territories.
He said a viable Palestinian state and a secure Israel can be reached "by only one path: the path of democracy, reform and the rule of law."
In U.S. dealings with Palestinian leaders, "we'll hold their feet to the fire to make sure that democracy prevails," Bush said at another point in the news conference."
The president also said he plans to visit Europe as soon as possible after his Jan. 20 inauguration as he seeks to mend relations with allies and "deepen our trans-Atlantic ties" during his second term.
Blair said his meeting with Bush -- the first by any foreign leader with the U.S. president since he was reelected last week -- comes at "a crucial time, where it is important that we revitalize and reinvigorate the search for a genuine, lasting and just peace in the Middle East." He said the Palestinian elections represent "a chance for the first beginnings of democracy to take hold on the Palestinian side, so it's important that we support it."
However, Bush did not directly answer when a reporter asked him what specific steps Israel could take to revive peace negotiations and whether he believes Israel should freeze the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
"I believe that the responsibility for peace is going to rest with the Palestinian people's desire to build a democracy and Israel's willingness to help them build a democracy," Bush said. "I know we have responsibility, as free nations, to set forth a strategy that will help the Palestinian people head toward democracy. I don't think there will ever be lasting peace until there is a free, truly democratic society in the Palestinian territory that becomes a state. And therefore, the responsibility rests with both the Palestinian people and the leadership which emerges, with the Israelis to help that democracy grow and with the free world to put the strategy in place that will help the democracy grow."
Bush said that during his second four-year term, he intends "to spend the capital of the United States" on achieving Palestinian statehood.
"The first step of that is going to be the election of a new president, and my fervent hope is that new president embraces the notion of a democratic state," he said. Bush said his vision for such a state includes "a future in which corruption is not the norm."
