Kerry comments on Ariel Sharon

Prior to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's meeting Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Mideast peace, Kerry commented on the deteriorating health of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and expressed that his thoughts are with Sharon and his family.

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem ahead of his meeting, Kerry issued the following statement:

"...to all the people of Israel that our thoughts, my thoughts, are with the Sharon family as they sit in vigil with the former prime minister of Israel, Arik Sharon. We remember his contributions, sacrifices he made to ensure the survival and the well-being of Israel, and I have many personal thoughts about my meetings with him on many different occasions -- always robust and strong and clear about his positions. And so we all join -- all Americans are thinking of Israel and their leader, former leader, and of the vigil that is taking place now at a very personal level with his family."

The health of the former prime minister, who has been in a coma for almost eight years following a stroke, has deteriorated and he is now in critical condition at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer hospital outside Tel Aviv.

Sharon was prime minister from 2001 to 2006.

[State Department] [UPI]