Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met Thursday with US President Barack Obama at the White House. Both underscored the enduring strength of US-Israel relations and highlighted the importance of taking steps towards peace, even if a diplomatic solution appears a distant prospect.

It was Rivlin’s first visit to the White House in office. Prior to a working meeting with Obama, he said “Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America … That has to be very clear and I say this loud and clear.” Rivlin thanked Obama “for what you have done over the last years for the financial, diplomatic and military help you have given us.” Obama responded in kind, saying, “We consider our commitment to Israel’s security to be one of the most important principles of American foreign policy,” emphasising, “It is one that is shared by Democrats and Republicans alike.”

Turning his attentions to regional issues, Obama said candidly, “Although obviously this is a time in which the prospects of serious peace may seem distant, it is important that we continue to try.” He said explicitly, “I have been very clear in condemning the violence that is reoccurring inside of Israel, the need for leaders like [Palestinian Authority] President Abbas to unequivocally condemn violence.” However, Obama added that there is also a “need for Israelis and Palestinians to find mechanisms in which to dialogue and arrive at peace.”

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Rivlin said that although Obama “expressed his concern” over the prospects of dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians, “The president agreed with me that the building of trust is required,” and to that end “They [United States] will check if each side can make gestures that could bring the two nations closer and the result could be the renewal of negotiations.” Rivlin said he suggested that the renewal of dialogue “should be done in stages, and maybe we should discuss [the possibility of] an interim period.”

In an op-ed published in the Washington Post ahead of his meeting with Obama, the Israeli president called on Israel to take proactive steps towards peace, without waiting for a Palestinian partner.

In his article, Rivlin wrote that there is no feasible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the moment, and that there was no diplomatic process underway or peace negotiations on the horizon. "Israel must take steps to improve the situation independent of the geopolitical territorial debate," Rivlin wrote, "steps that every sensible person understands serve simultaneously Israel’s moral and practical interests. Without resolving the question of whether or not Israel today has a Palestinian partner for peace."

On Wednesday, Rivlin took part in the White House's official candle lighting ceremony in honor of Chanukah.