Steinmeier in Israel says time running out for peace (2nd Roundup)

Jul 6, 2009, 17:20 GMT

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.