Israeli leader Netanyahu starts Europe trip with London talks

Aug 25, 2009, 13:52 GMT

   London - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kicked off a crucial round of diplomatic talks in Europe with a meeting in London Tuesday with Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

   The dispute over Israeli settlements and the nuclear ambitions of Iran were expected to top the agenda during the Downing Street meeting.

   Reports from Israel have said that Netanyahu hopes to move the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward in a 'three-track approach' focusing on diplomatic, economic and security issues.

   The sensitive issue of settlements will also be at the core of talks Netanyahu is due to hold in London Wednesday with George Mitchell, the Middle East envoy of US President Barack Obama.

   On Thursday, Netanyahu is due to have talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

   Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad urged European leaders Tuesday to urge Israel to stop building homes on occupied land.

   'What we're dealing with here are prerequisites to success. We're dealing with issues that do not exceed doing what is minimal in order for the process to begin to make sense,' he said in a BBC interview.

   'All we're discussing is to stop settlement activity, to prevent a bad situation from getting worse.'