(Communicated by the Office of the President)

President Shimon Peres, this afternoon (Thursday, 23 May 2013), held a diplomatic working meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the threat of a nuclear Iran and the strategic relations between Israel and the US.

At the start of the meeting the two delivered joint statements to the press and then held a private meeting in the President's study. President Peres began the meeting by welcoming Secretary of State Kerry and expressing his condolences for the tragic events in Oklahoma, "First let me tell you that our hearts are with the American people, with the people in Oklahoma, we share their pain and admire their courage and we pray for their full recovery. God bless them."

President Peres addressed Kerry's attempts to restart the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians as well his efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria and said,

"I know that your burden is very heavy and but so is the hope. If you will succeed it will be our success, if you miss we shall miss. We shall stand by your side, all the way. You have a mission of peace which concerns all of us; Israeli's and Palestinians, old and young, mothers and children. I wish you success, we shall work with you.

I also want to appreciate your effort to bring an end to the tragedy in Syria, we can't stand it as human beings, what you are doing is a human mission, not just a political necessity. Here too we shall be on your side in the best way you can, where necessary to speak but where necessary also to stay silent. Both are needed and we shall follow your advice to make your burden easy and your success full."

Secretary of State Kerry began by thanking President Peres for his words and said,

"Mr. President, Shimon, my friend of many years I'm very grateful to you first of all on behalf of the American people for your expression of condolence for what happened in Oklahoma, it is extraordinarily tragic but you're right that the people there are unbelievably courageous and set a great example to everybody.

I've said before when I've come here and I say it again, visiting you is really very special. You are one of the world's great statesmen as I wrote in the (guest) book. I think you are a treasure for Israel and for all of us who try to work for peace. I know the journey you have had and the many roles you have played in Israel's history and it’s a great privilege to visit with one of the founding gather generation leaders of this country. I'm honored to be here with you."

Secretary of State Kerry addressed the efforts to restart peace talks and said,

"No-one knows better than you the complications and difficulties of trying to end years of conflict and trying to bring people with a long history of not trusting each other and of disappointments and of conflict and trying to bridge that divide. I am convinced with great humility that this moment is a critical one for the region and particularly for Israel, for Palestine and for Jordan. I think there is an opportunity but for many reasons it's not on the tips of everyone's tongue.

People in Israel aren't waking up every day and wondering if tomorrow there will be peace because there is a sense of security and a sense of accomplishment and of prosperity. But I think that if you look over the horizon, as you do so often, one can see the challenges and I think the importance of trying to resolve this at this moment when there is a willingness for people to look for a way cannot be overstated.

It's not me, Mr. President - it really is a question of whether Israel and the Palestinians make the choices and the United States of America through President Barack Obama is completely at the disposal of both parties to try and help bridge the divide. We will work as hard as we can, you know how strongly we support Israel, you know how much we care about and admire the journey of the Israeli people but our hope is that the leaders in both Israel and the Palestinian Authority will find the way to compromise and to achieve both of their goals and I look forward to working with you on that enterprise."