The Minister for Foreign Affairs claimed yesterday that his position on the Middle East had been misrepresented by opposition parties who had accused him of being "weak-willed" and abandoning the road map agreed by the quartet of the United Nations, US, EU and Russian Federation.
Mr Cowen said his statement on behalf of Ireland's European Presidency about this week's meeting between President George Bush and the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, had been properly understood internationally but not in opposition circles at home.
"In some sense it has been misrepresented, certainly here by some current opposition spokespersons. In particular, there appears to be criticism that I should welcome any aspect of what President Bush had to say and obviously I don't agree with such an attitude," Mr Cowen said.
"My approach to President Bush's statement was quite straightforward. When President Bush said something that the EU could endorse, I welcomed it. Where there was a difference of perspective, I made that clear. This appears to have been widely understood elsewhere."
He continued: "Basically, the EU believes that final-status issues are matters to be agreed by the parties. I believe that the US is of the same view. Where some of us have reservations is on whether we feel it assists our shared goal of an agreed settlement to seek, in advance of negotiations, an understanding with one party to the negotiations on the outcome of those negotiations.
"On this point, I think it is worth putting the Washington statements into perspective. The fact remains that, in order to achieve lasting peace and security, Israel still has to reach agreement with the Palestinian people and its other Arab neighbours.
"It remains the case that Israel has to make peace with its enemies, not its friends.
"Israel and the United States are not in conflict, and the fact that Prime Minister Sharon can reach an understanding with President Bush on what certain elements of a final-status agreement might look like cannot substitute for the need for Israel to reach agreement with those with whom it is in conflict.
"Everyone knows that any attempt to solve the conflict unilaterally will not bring lasting peace.
"Any viable, long-term settlement needs to be both agreed and inclusive. We have learned that here in Ireland, and there will be no escaping that reality in the Middle East either," Mr Cowen said.
The Minister was asked if the road map was alive or dead, since President Bush was now being accused of siding definitively with Israel.
He responded: "In his statement, the President confirms that the road map, which enjoys almost universal support, is the mechanism by which a permanent peace can be achieved in the Middle East."
The next meeting of the Quartet would be "an opportunity to confirm that any initiatives which have been taken are consistent with the road map".
There was further criticism of the Minister yesterday from the Labour spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Michael D. Higgins, who said: "It would be quite a shame, totally unacceptable and a terrible reflection on Irish foreign policy if a previously constructive approach by Brian Cowen to the Middle East was squandered by an attempt to create a false consensus on this issue.
"The road map is sponsored by the four signatories. It is now clear that the US is sponsoring the Ariel Sharon plan, which is not capable of being reconciled with the fundamental principles of the road map."