Israel's Olmert arrives in Italy, to meet pope, Prodi

Dec 13, 2006, 11:28 GMT

Rome - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrived in Rome on Wednesday ahead of meetings with Pope Benedict XVI and Italian Premier Romano Prodi.

The papal audience at the Vatican was expected to discuss peace in the Middle East and the situation facing Church properties in the Holy Land.

According to reports, Olmert was expected to reject the pope's request for the Upper Room, the alleged site of The Last Supper in Jerusalem, to be placed under Catholic control.

The Israeli government had promised to arrange for its ownership to be transferred during a 2000 visit to the Holy Land by the late Pope John Paul II.

During his meeting with Prodi, Olmert was expected to seek Italy's support in imposing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The Italian government has so far held a conciliatory position, arguing that negotiations with Iran are necessary.

Prodi would also like to convince Israel to resume negotiations with Syria, which the Olmert government sees as an obstacle to peace in the region and which it accuses of supporting terrorism.

The two leaders were also expected to discuss the situation in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon, where Italy has a sizeable peace-keeping force.

Prodi and Olmert will likely discuss an Italian proposal to place the Shebaa Farms under UN control. The farms are disputed by Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

During his one-day visit to Rome, Olmert was also scheduled to meet Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi.

Italian far-left groups planned to stage a demonstration in central Rome to protest Olmert's visit.