Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
plans to press for a speedy return to the Middle East peace process,
his ministry said ahead of Steinmeier's departure for the region on
Sunday evening.
Steinmeier is due to spend two days in Israel, the Palestinian
Territories, Syria and Lebanon, meeting with political leaders.
German officials said the minister hoped to persuade neighbouring
Arab states to take a more active role in diplomatic efforts to end
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On Monday, Steinmeier is due to meet Israeli President Shimon
Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman in Jerusalem.
A planned meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the
West Bank town of Ramallah is not expected to take place because
Abbas is visiting Jordan for talks on forming a Palestinian unity
government with the Hamas movement.
A key aspect of the discussions with Israel's conservative
leadership is expected to be US and European Union calls for a halt
to settlement construction in the occupied territories.
Israel has offered a temporary freeze but has declined to put an
outright stop to settlement expansion.
Steinmeier, who is paying his 14th visit to the region since
taking office in 2005, is also expected to push for a two-state
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On Sunday, Netanyahu referred for the first time to a 'two-state
solution' in reference to efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.
'We have achieved a national agreement on the formula of two
states for two peoples,' the prime minister said during the weekly
meeting of the Israeli cabinet.
Last month, Netanyahu allowed the possibility of a demilitarized
Palestinian state without mentioning a 'two-state solution.'
In Damascus, Steinmeier is expected to urge Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad to play a more constructive role in helping to
resolve the region's problems.
Foreign Ministry sources said he intended to urge the Syrian
leader to end support for the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon
and loosen political ties with Iran.
In Lebanon, the final stage of Steinmeier's tour, the minister is
due to meet prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, son of former
premier Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a bomb blast in 2005.
Hariri's pro-western alliance won national elections in Lebanon
held on June 7.
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