Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres expects his negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to yield "a way out of the current situation in the Middle East," he said upon arrival in Moscow, cited by Novosty news agency.
Peres added that "Russia is a big country that is responsible for peace throughout world, including the Middle East; her contribution may prove invaluable at this stage."
The minister disclosed that Putin had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon previously, with Sharon pledging that Peres would brief the Russian president on all the current developments in the Middle East.
Peres expects to brief Moscow policymakers on the situation in the Middle East and evaluate Russian government's advice on the issue.
While commenting on the recent developments in the region and at home, the agency said, the Israeli minister pointed out that Tel Aviv was not taking any actions on its own initiative, merely reacting to Palestinian actions.
"Also, the problem is that Palestinian security forces are involved in terrorist acts that have rocked Israel recently," claimed Peres. He went on to say, "If the Palestinian side ceases fire, Tel Aviv will return to the negotiating table first thing." When pressed by reporters for comment on Tel Aviv's stance toward the Arab League's call to sever ties with Israel, Peres responded that "no one can discourage [Israel] enough to stop [its] peace efforts." He was astonished that the league had "not said a word against terrorism and killings of women and children."
"We handed over our territories under the land-for-peace program and we are not sure we got peace in return, we are very unhappy about this issue," Shimon Peres concluded.
Peres is playing the key role in promoting the widely-criticized Israeli policies around the world, shuttling between the world capitals in a PR campaign based on accusing the Palestinian Authority of standing behind “terrorism.”
Israeli incursions into lands under the Palestinian rule, demolishing of houses and killing of civilians, in addition to the economic siege imposed on the Palestinians have drawn criticism from numerous international parties – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
