Ambassador Kenneth Keating said that the Israeli-Egyptian disengagement agreement was a “monumental event” in the history of the Middle East but warned at the same time that its significance should not be overestimated because “peace is not around the corner.” The American envoy addressed the closing session of the mid-winter conference of Hadassah here. He said the agreement had every chance of being implemented because it was based on the principle that the only acceptable peace settlement in the Middle East is one acceptable to both parties.
Peace will be attained only through a concrete display of accommodation and good will, Keating said. He cautioned, however, that there are barriers on the road to peace, some of them seemingly impenetrable, but for the first time in recent history there is also hope. He said the U.S. was proud of its efforts toward peace and that the friendship between the U.S. and Israel is deep and unbreakable.
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