Thursday, January 24, 2013

Kerry Hopes Netanyahu Will Choose New Path in 3rd Term

Incoming Secretary of State Senator John Kerry, appearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee for his confirmation hearing, told the committee that he hoped Israel's elections results lead to renewed negotiations with the Palestinians. 

"There were  election yesterday and we still don't know which government it's going to be.  I pray that maybe this will be a moment that will allow us to renew the effort  to bring the parties to the negotiating table and go down a different path  than the one they were on in the last few years. I would like to try and do that,"  Kerry told the senators.

John Kerry also delivered a message to Iran during his confirmation hearing. "The President has made it definitive - we will do what we can to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

"I repeat here today: our policy is not containment," he said. "I will work to give diplomacy every effort to succeed. But no one should mistake our resolve to reduce the nuclear threat," continued Kerry.  "