Peres asks Obama to grant clemency to Pollard
By JPOST.COM STAFF
LAST UPDATED: 04/05/2011 21:20
President speaks with US counterpart about the need for a defensive wall against Iran; raises issue of Gilad Schalit; Obama says it's "more urgent than ever" to resolve Palestinian conflict.
President Peres with US President Obama Photo: Mark Neyman / GPO
Additionally, Peres said he "told Obama that first of all, there must be a
defensive wall against Iran. Do not neglect the moral struggle, because
Iran today reflects the corruption of the world's moral values."
Peres also said that Obama reiterated his commitment to Israel's
security, saying that it "remains a top priority of the American
administration."
Obama, in a statement released after the two met, said that with the
winds of change sweeping the broader Middle East it was "more urgent
than ever" to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Speaking before the meeting, White House Spokesman Jay Carney told
reporters that Peres "has been a friend and partner with the United
States for many administrations," AFP reported.
Discussing the agenda for the meeting, Carney said that "the two
presidents will discuss events in the Middle East and around the world
and they will discuss, obviously, efforts that need to be taken towards
finding a compromise in the Middle East peace process."
On Monday, Peres met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his first meeting in the trip to Washington.
Discussing changes currently taking place in the Middle East, Clinton
said before the meeting, "This is a time of great opportunity, but it’s
also a time of many challenges. So our task together is to deepen and
broaden our friendship, our relationship."
She added that by doing so, "we can work toward the kind of future that
you have always believed in and that you have held out as a promise for
the children of Israel and the children of all the countries of the
Middle East."