Italy, Israel agree on Iran sanctions, disagree on Syria

Dec 13, 2006, 17:05 GMT

Rome - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Wednesday backed Israeli demands for sanctions to be imposed on Iran, but said Italy and Israel remained divided over the need to engage in negotiations with Syria.

Speaking at a joint press conference after a meeting with Israeli premier Ehud Olmert, Prodi said Italy would take 'an active role in the definition of sanctions' against Iran in a bid to prevent it from equipping itself with nuclear weapons.

Italy, which will become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in January, had previously held a more conciliatory stance towards Iran.

The two leaders also slammed the Iranian government for hosting a conference designed to minimize the Holocaust and played up bilateral relations.

But Prodi and Olmert admitted that divisions remained over the need to engage Syria in negotiations designed to bring peace to the Middle East.

'There are still differences over the issue of dialogue with Syria,' said Prodi.

While the Prodi government argues that such negotiations are necessary, the Olmert government sees Syria as an obstacle to peace because of its alleged support of terrorist groups operating in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

The Italian premier also urged Olmert to hold direct talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying the current status quo in the Middle East was 'unsustainable in the long run'.

Olmert thanked the Italian government for its role in finding a solution to the Lebanon crisis and for contributing 2,500 troops as part of a UN peacekeeping force. Italy is scheduled to take over command of UNIFIL in February.

Earlier Wednesday, Olmert held talks at the Vatican with Pope Benedict XVI and renewed an invitation for a papal visit to the Holy Land.

The Israeli premier later told reports that although the pope had expressed a willingness to visit the country, no dates had yet been discussed. Israeli President Moshe Katsav had already invited Pope Benedict to Jerusalem in a meeting at the Vatican last year.

In a brief statement, the Vatican said the talks between Olmert and the pope had centred on the situation in the Middle East and the condition facing Christian communities in Israel.

It was unclear whether the pope and Olmert had also discussed a request by the Vatican to take over control of the Upper Room, the alleged site of The Last Supper, in Jerusalem.

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

Olmert later held talks with the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, before meeting Prodi at a nearby Roman villa.

Olmert, who was in Germany on Tuesday, was later scheduled to meet Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi.