Supporting reform

US President Barack Obama delivered a highly-anticipated speech on Thursday aimed at redefining America's role in the Middle East and North Africa in light of the series of uprisings that have swept the region in the last six months.

The speech, held at the State Department in the capital, Washington, was seen as an attempt by Obama to give a clear vision on how the US intends to deal with the Arab Spring.

Obama said it was US policy to "promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy."

One of the ongoing transitions is taking place in Syria, where protesters have called for more democracy but have been met with violent repression.

"The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy," Obama said. "President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition, or get out of the way."

For Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Obama said time was working against him and that he would inevitably step down. When that happens, Obama said, "decades of provocation will come to an end, and the transition to a democratic Libya can proceed."

Referring to all nations undergoing democratic change, Obama said the US supports a set of core principles, which includes oppression to violence and repression, support of universal rights and political and economic reforms that serve the interests of ordinary people.

Two-state solution with 1967 borders

Obama also addressed the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, saying a two-state solution was the only way the problem was ever going to be solved.

"At a time when the people of the Middle East and North Africa are casting off the burdens of the past, the drive for a lasting peace that ends the conflict and resolves all claims is more urgent than ever," he said.

Obama said the two states should be established along the borders from 1967 - before Israel had occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza - with the scope for "mutually agreed swaps."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin supported Obama's position. "I think the proposal of taking the 1967 border and of considering the exchange of territory - considering it and not dogmatically adhering to it - would be a good and manageable path," Merkel told a news conference on Friday.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had earlier praised Obama for speaking out "so clearly and in such an engaged fashion in favor of a comprehensive and fair two-state solution."

However, the issue has ruffled Israeli feathers with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that the 1967 borders would make Israel impossible to defend. "The viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel's existence," said Netanyahu, who is scheduled to meet Obama at the White House later Friday.

Some experts say those talks and Netanyahu's planned address to Congress next Tuesday will not yield the desired results.

"The real problem you have right now is that Israel says it won't talk to a government that includes Hamas. And the ruling Fatah party has just made an agreement [in forming a government] with Hamas. I don't think that issue can be resolved this weekend," Lawrence Korb of the Center for American Progress told Deutsche Welle.

Yinam Cohen, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Germany, downplayed talk of stark differences between Israel and the US in the wake of Obama' speech.

"There is no big gap between Israel and the Americans. The only thing is that we don't negotiate with the Americans, we should negotiate with the Palestinians. And hopefully after some important speeches that we expect in Washington, the idea is to hopefully back into direct talks with the Palestinians."

In an attempt to appease Israel, Obama stressed that Palestinian efforts to gain recognition by the United Nations and delegitimize Israel would not work, and warned that Hamas participation in the Palestinian government did not help move peace talks along.

Author: Rob Mudge, Richard Connor (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler