Thanks, Robert. A quick follow-up on Iran, out of today’s press avail. The President said there was no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks. And I just wanted to see if you could add a bit to that, what he means by “no doubt”? What has definitely changed at this point and what still remains to be seen?
MR. GIBBS: Well, Ben, I think you heard the President say in his news conference earlier in the week that right now our focus is on what’s going on there on the ground. Obviously lots has to — a lot of things are going to have to shake out and get figured out obviously as we watch that. I think the President has been clear on that. As I’ve mentioned here, there are multilateral invitations.
And, look, a lot of this is — the Iranians have been offered a pathway to meet their responsibilities. In many ways, their actions are up to them and I think that’s what the President said today. The G8 last night reiterated their multilateral invitation through a statement — based on an ongoing invitation from early April.
Q Well, I understand he’s been consistent saying that events have to play out and the U.S. is watching and the world is watching. But when he says today there’s no doubt that any direct dialogue is going to be affected by what’s happened, is it clear at this point, regardless of what happens in the coming days, that at least something has changed?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I mean, look, I think we’ve seen the images, we’ve seen the violence, we’ve seen the actions in a way that leads I think many to believe that Iran isn’t going to choose the pathway that’s been offered by this and other countries as part of the P5-plus-1. Obviously it’s — again, I think their actions are up to them.
MR. GIBBS: Well, Ben, I think you heard the President say in his news conference earlier in the week that right now our focus is on what’s going on there on the ground. Obviously lots has to — a lot of things are going to have to shake out and get figured out obviously as we watch that. I think the President has been clear on that. As I’ve mentioned here, there are multilateral invitations.
And, look, a lot of this is — the Iranians have been offered a pathway to meet their responsibilities. In many ways, their actions are up to them and I think that’s what the President said today. The G8 last night reiterated their multilateral invitation through a statement — based on an ongoing invitation from early April.
Q Well, I understand he’s been consistent saying that events have to play out and the U.S. is watching and the world is watching. But when he says today there’s no doubt that any direct dialogue is going to be affected by what’s happened, is it clear at this point, regardless of what happens in the coming days, that at least something has changed?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I mean, look, I think we’ve seen the images, we’ve seen the violence, we’ve seen the actions in a way that leads I think many to believe that Iran isn’t going to choose the pathway that’s been offered by this and other countries as part of the P5-plus-1. Obviously it’s — again, I think their actions are up to them.
Full Transcript Here
http://blog.obamatweets.net/2009/06/27/6-26-9-obama-news-white-house-press-conference-robert-gibbs/