A major area of concern for all of us today involves conflict resolution. People everywhere in our region - Arabs and Israelis, Turks and Iranians - deserve an era of regional prosperity, of partnerships that deliver jobs, better education, and stability. Yet no country in the Middle East can realize its full potential while the region is in conflict.
To achieve peace, patterns of fear, resentment, mistrust and indifference to the suffering of others must be broken. Sides that have long defined themselves in opposition to each other must create a new psychology. Societies and individuals alike must reorient themselves to a future that rewards productivity and cooperation, not confrontation.
The psychology of conflict is difficult to break. But history, including that of Europe, shows that even the bitterest adversaries can make the transition when peace delivers on its promise - when human energies and material resources once drained by hostilities are channeled toward building national infrastructure, and promoting good governance; when stability invites inward investment and participation in global markets, bolstering economic opportunity and growth. As entire societies become stakeholders in the new status quo, peace becomes self-reinforcing.
It is evident that peace among nations depends on the trust that is built when people recognize common values and goals. That said, there is a growing need to strengthen our common action for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Lasting peace will only come with a negotiated, final settlement, based on international legality - two states: a viable, sovereign Palestinian state, alongside a secure Israel.
It is time for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to recognize the enormity of the responsibility that they bear, not only for the future security, stability and prosperity of their people, but for the well-being of our entire region.
Today, experts on both sides should deal on a regular basis with the same important issues - health, economic development, and other concerns. Let's create a forum to bring such civil society groups together - a “meeting of peace partners” - and find ways to support them along the path to peace.
What I want to say is that only together we can create a future of inclusion and unity. But good will is not enough. Real change requires not only ideas but action as well. What brings us together is the same dream. A dream of peace, prosperity, coexistence and reconciliation. But dreams alone cannot fulfill hopes. We should also have ambitions. Ambitions to move beyond the violence and occupation, to the day when, Israel and the Palestinians, can live together, side by side, in peace and security.
And in our hands today, we hold the mechanism which in Annapolis has created a new spark of hope and can translate these ambitions into realities on the ground. It is a plan, going back to negotiations, that addresses the needs of both Israelis and Palestinians. To the Israelis, this plan should offer collective security guarantees by all Arabs, a peace treaty and normal relations with Arab States, and an end to the conflict. To the Palestinians, it should offer a viable state, and the promise to live in prosperity.
We in Greece, along with other countries, are leading this constituency of peace. We are working with our partners to ensure that the lessons learnt from the past will provide a blueprint for a better future, for the sake of our own people, and that of the rest of humanity.
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