SECRETARY POWELL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to have welcomed the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Prime Minister Hariri, and to have had a chance to exchange views on the situation in the region, the prospects for peace, the prospects for a de-escalation of the violence. And we also had a chance to discuss other issues, the efforts that he and his government are making toward economic stability and getting the kind of support they need. I was also privileged to be with the Prime Minister yesterday when he met with the President, and the President assured him of our commitment toward peace in the region and assured him of our commitment to support for Lebanon and their efforts.
And I think we have a good relationship with Lebanon, and it has been my great pleasure to receive him. And now I would invite him to say a word or two.
PRIME MINISTER HARIRI: Thank you. I had a very fruitful meeting with His Excellency, and we discussed our bilateral relation, especially the economical part, and the support needed from Lebanon so United States can provide to assure the economic stability in the country, which is instrumental for the stability in that part of the world, on one hand, and we appreciate every help and assistance we are going to get from United States.
On the other hand, we have discussed the necessity of the continuation of the peace process in the region and the commitment of President Bush and His Excellency toward the peace in the Middle East, which is important to all the people in the Middle East.
Q: Mr. Secretary, if I may ask you a question. Last week a Hezbollah attack because of Israeli soldiers, this Administration criticized Hezbollah (inaudible) outbursts. Hezbollah was created to get the Israelis out of southern Lebanon (inaudible). How long will Hezbollah stay in Lebanon?
PRIME MINISTER HARIRI: You know, all this related to the lack of peace in the region, still land occupied in the region, you know that Sheba'a Farm is still occupied. Is it under the 425 or 242? It doesn't make any difference. It is not on Israeli land, anyway. It is Lebanese land. Syria has admitted that.
So we can argue all the time about it, but the most important thing, what are the solution? The argument will not lead to anywhere. The solution is to start working hand to hand with the people who believe in peace, and we are one of them. We will do all our best to achieve the peace with the leadership of United States, and we are going to do all our best with other responsible leaders in the region, with the full cooperation of the United States to achieve the peace in the region.
Q: Do you think the will is there in all the necessary places?
PRIME MINISTER HARIRI: On our side, I can assure you, sir, that the will is there.
Q: Well, that I know. But in Damascus, Jerusalem.
PRIME MINISTER HARIRI: Damascus, the Jordanian, the Egyptian. All the Arab world are. I have seen most of them in the recent weeks, and I can assure you everybody is saying that the only solution is to find -- to conclude a peace agreement between Israel and the rest of the Arab world based on the United Nations resolution.
Thank you.
Q: Mr. Secretary, the Arab world has been waiting for the United States in the new Administration to become really involved, and also not only look for the peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis but the peace track on the Syrian and the Lebanese fronts.
Did you discuss the Lebanese-Israeli peace and the Israeli-Syrian peace? And what are the next steps?
SECRETARY POWELL: We discussed all of these issues. You don't have to look far to see that this Administration is engaged. It takes a great deal of President Bush's time. My first trip out of the country, other than a short trip to Mexico with the President, was to the region and to meet with leaders in the region. We have a number of things working right now quietly to get the security situation stabilized, start violence moving down rather than up. And when we have some success there, we can build on that success with improving the economic situation for the people in the region, and then ultimately getting back to a negotiating track.
As the Prime Minister has said, ultimately the solution for the region is peace, peace that is fair for all based on relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. But we are not going to get back to that track until we get the violence moving down and start to see some progress on the de-escalation in violence; then we can move forward. And that is my utmost objective at the moment, and the United States is fully engaged at every level trying to make that happen. There is no lack of engagement. We don't always run out every day with a banner headline, but I can assure you we are hard at work and deeply engaged.
Thank you very much.