Chief US Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross said Monday he will step down after the administration of President Bill Clinton leaves office in January.
His announcement came in the question-and-answer period following a speech here to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council on the current tense situation between Israel and the Palestinians.
"That is something I do control," Ross said referring to what he would do if Republican candidate George W. Bush wins the presidential election on Tuesday.
"I have done this for a long time, and while my own commitment to working on it hasn't flagged, I think the impact it's had on my family is something I have to take account of," the State Department veteran said.
"So I intend to work through this administration, but I don't intend to stay on for the next one," he said.
Ross also said he did not expect US policy toward the peace process to change, whatever the outcome of the presidential election.
"Every administration since (US president Harry) Truman has defined Arab-Israeli peace as being in the vital national security interest of the United States," he said.
"My guess is that the kind of continuity that has characterized our policy over time on the issue ... is something that will be maintained, regardless of who is elected."
Ross has been one of the few consistent elements in the tortuous peace process between Arabs and Israelis. He has been point person for the president and the secretary of state from the 1991 Madrid talks to the Camp David talks this past summer.
He has helped shape US policy in the Middle East under three administrations, and also had a major role in American involvement towards the former Soviet Union.
He has been a prime practitioner of shuttle diplomacy, accompanying both former secretary of state Warren Christopher and current Secretary of Secretary Madeleine Albright in their many meetings with Middle Eastern leaders.
In his speech Monday, Ross said Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the rest of the world, must deal with reality in the Middle East and not try to impose solutions.
Both sides must accept responsibility for the violence and stalling of the peace process since the September 28 visit of right-wing Israeli leader Ariel Sharon to the mosque complex, or what Jews call the "Temple Mount."
"It's real easy to point the finger at one side or the other," he said.
"The question is, how does that contribute to try to transform the situation and end the killing, and end the cycle of violence?" he asked.
"There is no military solution to this problem. There is only a political solution" -- SANTA MONICA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
