Jerusalem - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
on Monday called on all parties in the Arab-Israeli conflict to
return to the negotiating table, saying that 'time is working against
peace' in the region.
Steinmeier was speaking after his meeting with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, and went on to say that the
momentum created by US President Barack Obama in the region 'could
not be allowed to go to waste.'
The minister also called on Syria and Lebanon to play a part in
solving the conflict, alongside the Palestinians and Israel.
Steinmeier is expected in Damascus for talks with Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday and in Beirut to meet with with Lebanese
prime minister-designate Saad Hariri the next day.
Steinmeier welcomed Netanyahu's recent acceptance of the need for
a two-state solution.
He also called the removal of some restrictions on the movement of
Palestinians in the West Bank as a 'small beginning.'
Germany's top diplomat landed in Tel Aviv before dawn on his 14th
visit to the region since taking office in 2005, and met first with
Israeli President Shimon Peres.
In his talks with Peres - whose duties as president are largely
ceremonial - Steinmeier re-emphasized the two-state solution to the
conflict and called for a resumption of peace talks.
'The road to stability in the entire region leads only through
talks with the Palestinian side,' he told reporters. 'My personal
conviction is: A guarantee for stability can only come through the
realization of the two-state solution.'
Netanyahu - who later this week completes his first 100 days in
office after rising to power following elections in February in which
the right-wing bloc of parties headed by his Likud won a majority of
mandates - had initially refused to openly support the two-state
solution.
He finally made a public endorsement of a - demilitarized -
Palestinian state in a June 14 policy speech, following intense
pressure from the US and also European leaders.
But Netanyahu had refused to accept demands for a complete freeze
of construction in Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank, a
demand the Palestinians have made a condition for any resumption of
peace negotiations.
He has also demanded security guarantees from the international
community prior to the creation of any Palestinian state, and
demanded the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish
people before a final peace deal can be signed.
'It is completely clear that a condition for all talks is Israel's
security and that of its people,' said Steinmeier, who toured the Yad
Vashem Holocaust memorial immediately after his meeting with Peres.
Moderate Arab states should 'contribute to this task,' he said,
adding 'I believe this is the vision which also stands behind the new
initiative of the American president.'
Netanyahu has also vowed to pursue a policy of 'reciprocity,'
insisting on Palestinian and Arab counter-steps in exchange for any
Israeli 'concessions.' As part of this, he wants Arab states to
gradually move toward normalizing ties with Israel even before a
Palestinian state is created.
Peres nonetheless insisted that 'Netanyahu wants peace.' Since
taking office, the Israeli government had improved the movement of
Palestinians in the West Bank by removing key military roadblocks, he
noted.
Peres also said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must
understand that Israel will not return the Golan Heights to him on a
'silver platter' if he continues to support Iran and its radical
Islamist proxies in the region.
Shimon Peres asked Steinmeier to deliver a 'clear' message to
Damascus, saying Israel was willing to start immediate, non-mediated
peace negotiations with Syria, without preconditions.
A planned stopover by Steinmeier in the West Bank city of Ramallah
Monday was cancelled due to an unannounced, last-minute visit by
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Jordan.
But Steinmeier did instead meet in Jerusalem with chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who charged that the new Israeli
government of hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not
genuinely interested in renewing peace negotiations with the
Palestinians.
Erekat charged Israel was evading its international obligations,
notably by refusing a complete freeze of settlement activity.
Steinmeier is scheduled to meet Monday evening with controversial
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman of the far-right Israel Beiteinu
party, the largest coalition partner of Netanyahu's hardline, but
mainstream Likud.
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