German foreign minister starts talks in Israel (1st Lead)

Jul 6, 2009, 6:45 GMT

   Jerusalem - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier began talks with Israeli leaders Monday morning as part of a 40-hour trip to Jerusalem, Damascus and Beirut.

   Steinmeier landed in Tel Aviv before dawn and opened his talks by meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres at his Jerusalem residence. He was scheduled next to tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance institute, before meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and opposition leader Tzipi Livni later in the day.

   A planned stopover in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which was to include an inaugural ceremony for some new, German-funded classrooms, was cancelled due to an unannounced, last-minute visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Jordan, a spokeswoman at the German representation in Ramallah confirmed.

   A key aspect of Steinmeier's discussions with Israel's right- leaning government is expected to be US and European Union calls for a halt to settlement construction in the occupied territories.

   German officials said he also hopes to persuade neighbouring Arab states to take a more active role in diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

   The visit is Steinmeier's 14th since taking office in 2005.

   He is scheduled to meet Tuesday with President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and in Lebanon with prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, son of former premier Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a bomb blast in 2005.