President Carter's Address to a Joint Session of Congress on the Camp David Accords
1978-9-18
President Carter delivers a speech outlining goals achieved at Camp David. He states that an 'impossible dream' has become a 'real possibility.' He attributes the success of the meeting to President Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Begin of Israel, calling them men of 'great personal courage.' He also stresses that the world has a lot to gain from peace in the Middle East. He says that the agreement has resolved the nature of peace in the region, provides security for all nations, establishes boundaries, and guarantees that the Palestinians who live in the disputed regions will have some say in what happens to them. He goes on to discuss provisions in the agreement to resolve disputes in the West Bank and Gaza. Carter then discusses the 'Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty Between Egypt and Israel.' Carter then admits that there is one issue on which agreement has not been reached: Egypt says that the agreement to remove Israeli settlements from Egyptian territory should be a prerequisite to any peace treaty, but Israel says that the issue of settlements should be a part of the peace negotiations themselves. Carter briefly addresses the situation in Lebanon before saying that Secretary of State Cyrus Vance will soon be leaving to speak with King Hussein of Jordan and King Khalid of Saudi Arabia about the terms of the Camp David Agreement.




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