News of Norway, issue 3, 1998
The Minister of Foreign Affairs had just met with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. During the meeting, Vollebæk and Albright discussed a range of issues, including the Middle East peace process, Yeltsin's dismissal of the Russian government, the land mine issue, the situation in Kosovo, and capital punishment.
For Vollebæk, this was his first visit to his counterpart in Washington, D.C. The meeting took place just one day before U.S. Middle East mediator Dennis Ross was headed to the region in an attempt to revitalize the peace process. Ross was present at the Washington, D.C., meeting, in addition to other U.S. northern Europe and Middle East specialists.
Vollebæk brought government appointed Middle East Advisor Terje Rød Larsen, Middle East Coordinator Mona Juul and special advisor Tarald Brautaset to the meeting.
With the 1993 Oslo agreement, the world saw a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process. The Norwegian mediators were able to bring all conflicting parties to the same negotiating table in Oslo, conceiving a peace agreement signed by both the Israelis and the Palestinians in the fall of 1993 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Vollebæk said that the U.S.'s wish to discuss new alternatives with Norway confirms that the peace process isn't dead. "We are not big and we shouldn't exaggerate our own importance, but I think that the Americans think it is productive to cooperate with us," he explained.
Outside the Middle East region, the U.S. and Norway are the only ones who still have an open dialogue with both parties. The EU sidelined themselves when the British Minister of Foreign Affairs chose to demonstrate his dissatisfaction with Israeli housing projects during his visit to Jerusalem earlier in March, according to NTB (The Norwegian News Agency).
Commenting on the landmine issue and storage of American landmines on Norwegian soil, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs said he was very optimistic. According to Vollebæk, government talks have brought Norway and the U.S. closer together. He emphasized that the Storting (The Parliament) will be able to ratify the Ottawa Treaty on banning land mines during its spring session.
When it came to President Boris Yeltsin's latest move, neither Vollebæk or Albright expressed any concern over the situation, though they both admitted that the dismissal of the government came as a surprise.
Before heading home, Vollebæk also met with Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, who is the American government's leading expert on Northeast Europe and Russia.