Kerry: Obama plans to 'listen', not present peace plan

[Jefferson23]

BERLIN (Reuters) -- US President Barack Obama will not bring a peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict next month, but rather intends to listen, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.

Obama's plan to visit has raised speculation of a new US push to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, stalled since 2010 in a dispute over Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

But Kerry, speaking to German students during his first foreign trip as Washington's top diplomat, played down expectations.

"We're not going to go and sort of plunk a plan down and tell everybody what they have to do," Kerry said. "I want to consult and the president wants to listen."


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[R. Daneel Olivaw]

1. Can't he just listen over the phone then?

Why is the trip needed in the first place?

[Jefferson23]

2. He can't not go.

I have no idea what he'll say when he is finished listening.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

4. I mean what new things can be said?

If the visit is just to keep up appearances then okay then, but I would imagine that most things have already been said through channels.

[Jefferson23]

5. I honestly have no forecast to share. Although I wouldn't say he is going to keep up appearances.

I believe he can't not go because this conflict is a thorn in every US presidents legacy for a long time. I don't mean
to suggest US presidents don't have political power, they know how to use it if they want something
bad enough...for the most part.

He has four years to go, we'll see.

[Still Sensible]

3. Just the usual management of expectations

that way if progress is made, in any way, it can be portrayed most favorably. This is how it's done.