Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said his government accepts in principle the US-sponsored road map peace initiative, but some reservations must be solved first, the Ha'aretz Daily reported Sunday.
In an exclusive interview with the daily, Sharon expressed his acceptance of the idea of two states for two peoples, which is the focus of the road map advocated by the US-led international mediating quartet, including the United States, the United Unions, the European Union and Russia.
"Eventually there will be a Palestinian state ... I do not think that we have to rule over another people and run their lives. I do not think that we have the strength for that. It is a very heavy burden on the public and it raises ethical problems and heavy economic problems," he said.
But Israel has 14 or 15 reservations on the peace plan, according to Sharon, the main reservation is Israel's security, which was described by the prime minister as "the historic responsibility that I bear" for the future and the fate of the Jewish people, and on which "there will be no concessions."
The second reservation is the implementation of the stages, Sharon said, stressing that there will be no transition from one stage to the next without the completion of the previous stage, and that "the determining factor is not the timetable but the execution."
The third reservation concerns the right of return. "If there is ever to be an end to the conflict, the Palestinians must recognize the Jewish people's right to a homeland and the existence of an independent Jewish state in the homeland of the Jewish people," he explained.
The compromise on the right of return must be clear right from the outset, and the end of the conflict will come only with the arrival of the recognition of the Jewish people's right to its homeland, according to Sharon.
Earlier reports said Sharon's senior aide Dov Weisglass has left for Washington Saturday night to present the reservations, which are called as "red lines", regarding the road map peace plan.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Sunday also said Israel's demand to amend the US-sponsored road map peace plan is not in order to set obstacles, but to advance the peace process.
According to the foreign minister, the peace between Israel and the Palestinians needs "two tango", and Israel would not agree to conduct peace talks alongside terror attacks, Israel Radio reported.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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